Disease found at site belonging to world’s second-largest salmon farmer.
Last Thursday, Chilean fishing and aquaculture authorities Sernapesca posted that it had notified AquaChile about suspected ISA at its Cahueldao site, Los Lagos Region, Southern Chile.
BioBio reports that as much as 120,000 fish have had to be removed.
Assistant Director of Aquaculture of Sernapesca Marcela Lara Fica said: “Once the suspicion has been notified, the Service has activated the protocols established for these cases, and given that the salmon farm has started harvesting the two cages involved, our official Veterinary Physicians they are already in place in order to verify the sanitary condition and confirm or discard this diagnosis, in addition to verifying the biosecurity conditions of the harvest both at origin and at destination”.
Lara also indicated that if confirmed, “all measures contemplated in the program will be activated, including zoning, harvesting and increased surveillance through the application of biosecurity measures for all surrounding salmon farms”.
Sernapesca added that in order to protect the sanitary condition of the salmon farms close to this case, a campaign will be implemented to monitor the disease.