Undertaking the first survey of damage, the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Raul Súnico, and the National Director of Sernapesca, José Miguel Burgos, announced that around 71 fishing boats had varying degrees of damage.
Electrical and mechanical damage has been caused to processing plants and around 90 per cent of cultured oyster lines have been destroyed.
With Coquimbo hardest hit, the authorities are also contacting leaders of artisanal fishing fleets located in coves in Coquimbo and Valparaiso to assess further damage.
The government assured that it is committed to helping Coquimbo's fishing industry recover.
In aquaculture news, Norwegian company SalmoBreed AS has achieved a major breakthrough in breeding for Pancreas Disease (PD) and sea lice resistance through a new genetic method called Genomic Selection.
This method is recognized in genetics science and can provide a more accurate and safer selection than by using traditional methods.
The company expects that the use of the method can provide a significant advancement in resistance to both PD and sea lice, and hence generate significant savings for the industry.
In other news, New Zealand’s aquaculture industry is building further on its sustainability credentials by launching A+, the new standard of sustainable aquaculture.
"A+ is a world class sustainable management framework which enables the New Zealand aquaculture industry to better engage with our communities and continuously improve our environmental practices while strengthening global demand for our seafood,” commented Ted Culley, Aquaculture New Zealand’s Deputy Chair.
“It will be a comprehensive framework of environmental standards, key performance indicators, a self-reporting system and third party audits, which will give the New Zealand public and our international markets further confidence in our environmental integrity.”
