The Chilean National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA) has approved the two-year renewal of the import permit for Atlantic salmon eggs produced by the Iceland based company Stofnfiskur, owned by Benchmark Holdings.
This means that StofnFiskur is currently the only authorised company to export salmon eggs to Chile, and ensures that the Chilean border remains open for egg imports from the company's product units in Iceland. The renewal is the outcome of two years of team efforts, outstanding biosecurity standards and the favorable result of the independent quality audit on Stofnfiskur.
The decision of SERNAPESCA is based on the report presented by the Chilean Animal Health Department and the information provided by the MAST (the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority) on the system that allows them to evaluate and declare disease-free compartments.
The Department of Animal Health of SERNAPESCA declared that "the Atlantic salmon eggs produced in the compartment of the company Stofnfiskur Ltda. comply with the level of protection required for all the pathogens specified in the evaluation, and it is object for official sanitary certification to be imported to Chile."
"We are very pleased that SERNAPESCA is acknowledging the high standards we have established for our compartments in Iceland, and has once more approved our production units for import of Atlantic Salmon eggs to Chile," said Dr. Jónas Jónasson, CEO of StofnFiskur HF. "This gives the Chilean industry security and flexibility of supply, and opportunity to maximise their smolt production capacity, as StofnFiskur is able to supply eggs for delivery every week of the year," he concluded.
Aquaculture for all