The National Service of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Sernapesca) published the new Antimicrobial and Antiparasitic Use Report, corresponding to the first semester of 2024. This report is intended to provide information on the use of drugs in aquaculture, in accordance with article 90c of the General Fisheries and Aquaculture Act.
Soledad Tapia Almonacid, National Director of Sernapesca highlighted the importance of the role of the Service in the use of these products in aquaculture and this semi-annual report: “Sernapesca is the entity in charge of regulating and controlling the use of pharmaceutical products in national aquaculture, and the publication of information on the use of antimicrobials and antiparasitic drugs not only constitutes a key tool for the management of drug use in salmon farming, but also reaffirms our commitment to transparency in this important economic activity for the country. The main objectives are the preservation of animal health, the protection of the environment and the protection of human health, within the framework of the National Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance and under the approach of the One Health Initiative.”
The report shows that during the first half of the year there was an increase in the use of antimicrobials in the seawater phase compared to the previous year, particularly in the first months of the year. This increase in consumption is mainly due to the presentation of cases of the disease Septicemia Rickettsial Salmonidea (SRS), as a result of the effects of environmental events in the regions of Los Lagos (FAN, harmful algal blooms) and Aysén (low oxygen) at the end of 2023. In freshwater, the indicators of use are maintained for 2023. However, there is a percentage increase in antimicrobial use in the Los Ríos region associated with flavobacteriosis control.
Although the information presented in this report shows an increase in the use of antimicrobials, it is important to wait for the results of the closing report for the year 2024 in its entirety, which analyses not only the year-on-year variation of indicators, but also the information regarding the productive temporality of concession groups, which will allow for a better look at the trends of drug use in the national industry.
PROA-Salmon certification
The Program for the Optimization of the Use of Antimicrobials (PROA-Salmon) is a voluntary certification that Sernapesca delivers and that aims to promote awareness about the responsible and efficient use of antimicrobials and promote practices for their reasonable use, and is granted to the productive cycles of centers of fat in the sea that manage to optimize the use of antimicrobials within limits established in the program or that do not use it throughout the productive cycle.
In this regard, the National Director of Sernapesca stressed that “Under our PROA-Salmón program we have been able to see that the increase of participating companies and the sustained increase of certified harvested tons is consolidated, but more importantly, it is emphasized that the certified production cycles present an Index of Consumption of Antimicrobials (ICA) significantly less than the average industry, which gives us much satisfaction to be able to have a tool that positively promotes good practices in the application of treatments, promoting optimization in the use of antimicrobials.”
In addition to the results presented by the PROA-Salmon programme, the implementation of the Monitoring, Alert and Response System (SVAR) project following the recent signing with the International Center for Solutions for Antimicrobial Resistance (ICARS) is highlighted, progressing through this international alliance in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Check the details of this agreement in the following link:
The “Report of Antimicrobial and Antiparasitic Use in salmon farming in the first half of 2024” is available at: Management Results – Sernapesca.
