Local and global companies led by Skretting, AquaGen/Blue Genomics, Pharmaq, Centrovet, Cermaq, Blumar and Ventisqueros have initiated a joint effort specifically aimed at helping the salmon industry in Chile to reduce its antibiotic use.

Over the last three decades, there have been considerable advances in the global salmon industry to improve its operations from economic, environmental and social perspectives. During this period, the total salmon supply has grown steadily to meet growing demand, while at the same time the industry has addressed major issues such as its dependence on scarce resources like fish meal and the escape of farmed species, among others.

In Chile, the high use of antibiotics by the salmon industry has been the subject of strong criticism, reaching its highest level in nine years during 2015 according to a report prepared by Sernapesca.

Largely, the main reason for this elevated use has been to address the challenge of Rickettsial Septicemia Syndrome (SRS), given that vaccines and traditional therapies have proven to be inefficient in treating this bacterial disease, which according to Sernapesca during 2015 was responsible for 78.9% of mortality induced by disease and antibiotic use in Chile.

The Chilean industry is convinced that concrete collaborative measures must be taken to achieve drastic reductions in antibiotic use. For this reason, local and global companies, led by Skretting, AquaGen/Blue Genomics, Pharmaq, Centrovet, Cermaq, Blumar and Ventisqueros launched during 2016 the innovative Pincoy Project, which aims to address the issue through a joint effort and at the same time offer alternatives for sustainable growth.

The focus of the Pincoy Project is to improve the efficiency of the salmon industry not only in relation to antibiotic use, but also in its productivity and efficiency.

Among other objectives, the project includes selective breeding, functional and high-performance diets, careful selection of smolts, vaccines, best practice protocols in both freshwater and saltwater stages, and careful monitoring and reporting. For its development, Pincoy has considered previous efforts developed by Sernapesca and SalmonChile, who see the project as an opportunity for the country to demonstrate how, through this collaboration, the Chilean industry can lay the groundwork for a possible solution in reducing antibiotic use in a sustainable manner.