The top users, of a total of 27 companies, were Australis Mar and Trusal, which used over 900 grams of annual antibiotics per ton produced; Salmones Aysén was ranked in third place, followed by Salmones Multiexport, which only disclosed the total use of antibiotics for 2014; and last, Salmones Camanchaca, which used more than 600 grams per ton produced during 2012 and 2014.
“The numbers we are announcing show the extensive use of antibiotics in the salmon farming industry; information that we requested for years through long legal procedures and that are finally being revealed today, for the first time,” said Liesbeth van der Meer, Executive Director of Oceana Chile. “In simple terms, the global average annual use of antimicrobials per ton produced in the cattle industry is 45 gm; meanwhile, there are salmon farms in Chile that have gone as far as using 950 gm per ton of salmon produced,” added van der Meer.
Salmones Caleta Bay was the company that used the fewest antibiotics, followed by Landes Fish Farming, Marine Harvest, Salmones Antártica and Mainstream.
