Salmon Farms

 Many of the presenters describing Chile include a short description of the Chilean economy. I understood that copper is the top export, but I needed help understanding what they kept describing as the second leading export. Heavily accented English and poor audio equipment are not a good combination. As we sailed along and comments were made in reference to fish farms, I finally figured out the word I could not understand was salmon. 

Salmon have a two-year life cycle beginning life in freshwater and maturing in salt water. Those from our part of the world may understand this from the salmon runs in Alaska with images of the mature salmon returning to the same freshwater streams in which they hatched to lay and fertilize eggs and die. This natural movement - fresh to salt water and return - is simulated by the fish-rearing industry in Chile. 

What I knew about the farming of fish was not good. I remember shrimpers in Alabama were complaining about farm-reared shrimp and the unhealthy conditions under which these shrimp are raised. I know there are issues with the reputation of some of the seafood and freshwater fish you purchase in big box stores associated with similar issues.  I am learning that there is a similar issue with salmon and half of the salmon consumed in the U.S. comes from Chile and is raised in the sea farms we have now seen. These farms are everywhere along the shore of the fjords.

My online searches indicate that Chile is second only to Norway in the export of salmon with Norway able to produce fish in what is regarded as a healthier way. A major issue in Chilean farming practices is the heavy use of antibiotics and growth stimulants. I read in one source that Chile used 1.2 million pounds of antibiotics in 2014 in comparison to the 2100 pounds used in Norway. Part of the concern is that these medications when used extensively can result in resistant organisms and some of the same medications are used by humans. Chile is attempting to reduce the level of antibiotics used and to rely on less protein-rich food made from wild fish by switching to more vegetable-based fish food. My guess is that the poverty level in combination with a history of few regulations makes changing such a lucrative industry difficult. 

USDA Salmon Overview - Chile

Chilean Salmon - Economist