Recovering sustainability after a health crisis in aquatic animals

Chile faced a severe aquatic animal health crisis in 2007 that affected the production of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) after an outbreak of infectious salmon anaemia (ISA). The outbreak had a considerable national economic impact. The response was led by the Competent Authority, the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca), which immediately implemented surveillance and control actions to mitigate the crisis. At the end of the initial response, the Competent Authority, together with the industry, set out a roadmap to return to sustainable salmon production. The success of the response was due to early detection and the implementation of biosecurity and control measures at all stages of production and control. These measures underpin the sanitary management model for aquaculture. The Chilean Veterinary Service has analysed critical health measures for salmon production and concluded that there has been an improvement in fish health, as evidenced by decreased mortalities, reduced use of antimicrobials, and improved management and control of prevalent diseases, such as salmon rickettsial syndrome (piscirickettsiosis), caligidosis and ISA. Improvements in health have contributed to increased harvests over time, with the largest monthly harvest for Atlantic salmon being achieved in January-February 2018, with 120,000 tonnes. The ISA crisis provided salutary lessons for the continued recovery and sustainability of Chile's salmon sector. The crisis highlighted the importance of strengthened Veterinary Services and public-private links, as well as a collaborative relationship with research entities and training centres. It was also important to enact new regulations to ensure recovery and sustainability. Fundamentally, the response to this crisis was based upon having good baseline surveillance already in place, supported by a Veterinary Service trained to manage emergency disease outbreaks.