Jos Miguel Burgos, head of the aquaculture division at the Chilean Fishery Under-Secretariat, detailed regulations that became effective the following week.
Next Alicia Gallardo of Sernapesca (National Fishery Service) explained the latest approach for monitoring and control of ISA in the freshwater stages of production.
HPRO-virus
The two government officials were addressing a large proportion of the Chilean freshwater industry who had gathered for two days at a hotel north of Puerto Montt to discuss challenges around the freshwater stages of salmon aquaculture.
Organised by Skretting Chile, the conference attracted 220 delegates from 54 companies and featured 19 speakers from eight countries. Hot topics included a message on how to face the growing problem of HPRO virus, a low-pathogenic variant of ISA virus that causes a non-clinical transient infection.
This came from Debes Christiansen, head of the national reference laboratory for fish and animal diseases in the Faeroe Islands. HPRO virus was identified in the Faeroes during the monitoring that followed the outbreak of ISA virus there in 2000. Harry King of the Australian research organisation CSIROs Food Futures Flagship discussed ways of keeping salmon broodstock in freshwater, a current challenge in Chile.
The role of nutrition
Alex Obach of the Skretting Aquaculture Research Centre described the role of nutrition in producing good quality smolt. Other topics included recirculation systems, water quality and sustainability, emerging diseases and the use of thermal and photo regimens to improve productivity.
New Sanitary Regulations Set Out At Conference
CHILE - Delegates at a Chilean freshwater conference early in September were told, We will have new sanitary regulations covering the freshwater stages of salmon aquaculture.
