New sanitary regulation proposes several changes
Among other modifications, there is an increased distance between Sanitary Management Areas and stricter measures regarding elimination and transference of fish, for example.
Although distance between salmon farming sites was already defined in 2.8 Km (1,512 nautical miles) now there might also be a larger minimum distance between Sanitary Management Areas or neighborhoods, which is proposed to be of 5.6 Km (3,024 nautical miles). It is expected that this measure will reduce the number of farming sites in the country.
Regarding how to slaughter sick fish, the document produced by the National Fisheries Service (Sernapesca) establishes for the first time a requirement: sedation or desensitization prior to the removal of the gills in order to avoid unnecessary suffering. Moreover, the timing for elimination of sick fish might be reduced to just one week.
According to the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, this draft regulation proposes –among other actions- a prohibition for transference of Atlantic salmon between estuaries but not the same measure for Rainbow trout and King salmon. Likewise, another prohibition might impede Chilean companies from importing machinery already used on water from countries that have suffered of contagious diseases such as ISA virus.
