April 2, 2026

 

Chile's Sernapesca releases 2025 report on use of antimicrobials in salmon farming

 

Chile's National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) has released its 2025 Sanitary Report and Reports on the Use of Antimicrobials and Antiparasitics in salmon farming.

 

The Sanitary Report includes an analysis of production in both freshwater and seawater phases, mortality indicators, and the results of disease surveillance and control programmes in production cycles completed during 2025. During this period, production activity in the seawater phase increased, reflected in a higher number of active farming sites and a 17% increase in cultivated biomass compared to 2024. Despite this growth, average mortality levels were 1.5% lower than the previous year.

 

In the freshwater phase, the main cause of mortality was production culling across the three farmed species: Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, and coho salmon. In the seawater grow-out phase, piscirickettsiosis remained the leading cause of mortality in Atlantic salmon, while in rainbow trout and coho salmon, production culling was the main cause.

 

In this context, Sernapesca's Deputy Director of Aquaculture, Mónica Rojas, said: "As part of the sanitary report, we can highlight that Chile has only one of the nine high-risk diseases listed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), which is ISA virus. Since 2023, the country has had no confirmed cases of other high-risk pathogens, reflecting high biosecurity standards and the effectiveness of Sernapesca's disease surveillance and control programmes."

 

Meanwhile, the report on the use of antimicrobials and antiparasitics highlights a 41.26% decrease in the Antiparasitic Consumption Index (ICAP), mainly associated with increased use of non-pharmacological immersion treatments, which rose by 36.1% during the year. This result aligns with efforts to promote alternative strategies and reduce reliance on antiparasitics.

 

Regarding antimicrobial use, the national Antimicrobial Consumption Index (ICA) increased by 5.88%, largely due to the growth in cultivated biomass. However, when broken down by production phase, freshwater operations showed a 34.1% reduction in total antimicrobial use, with the La Araucanía region alone reducing consumption by 70%. In farming sites that completed their production cycle in 2025, the ICA reached 313.81 grams per tonne produced, with no significant variation compared to 2024.

 

Rojas also highlighted the results of PROA-Salmon, a voluntary programme that certifies production cycles that have optimised or eliminated antimicrobial use.

 

"The overall antimicrobial consumption index in completed seawater cycles reaches 313.81 grams per tonne," Rojas stated. "However, in PROA-Salmon certified cycles, this indicator is reduced by more than 96%, reaching an average of 13.47 grams per ton, lower even than the values recorded in certified cycles the previous year. This sets an important precedent for continuing to promote the optimisation of antimicrobial use and reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR), in line with the One Health policies promoted by the World Health Organization."

 

- Aquafeed.com