Norway’s FHL speaks with Chile’s national media
The onset of ISA in Chile’s salmon industry, which coincidentally spread most within the Norwegian owned affiliate Marine Harvest Chile, drastically reduced the company’s year-end results and likewise increased the concerns of its stakeholders worldwide. According to the national newspaper El Mercurio (www.emol.com), Trond Davidsen of the FHL (the Norwegian Seafood Federation) had the following to say about Chile’s situation and what could help improve it: “The emergence of the ISA virus obviously has made a negative impact on salmon production in Chile as well as the earnings for salmon companies, including those Norwegian owned. However, history shows that these types of challenges are overcome. The Norwegian salmon industry has spent many years dealing with the treatment of fish diseases, and solutions have been and will continue to be found. Today’s challenges in both Norway and Chile shouldn’t have an impact on the long-term perspective. What I think Chile needs to look at is the status of its governmental regulations, whether these are at par with the evolution of the industry. In Norway the salmon industry suffered a similar situation with ISA years ago. Since then very strict rules for salmon production were established, with detailed governmental regulations and laws that now specify production limits per farm, the bio-security measures that must be followed, etc. Many times these regulations make the day-to-day operations much more complicated, but I’m convinced that in the long run it is a much wiser method for the organization of the industry’s activities.”
