The move comes following an article that appeared in the New York Times, 'Salmon virus indicts Chile's fishing methods' by Alexei Barrionuevo, and amid reports that major US retailer Safeway is reducing the volumes of Chilean farmed salmon it stocks.

Issuing a statement in response to the New York Times article, SOTA said it felt it must "clarify some of the issues incorrectly raised regarding the salmon anaemia virus [Infectious Salmon Anaemia] and the boldly erroneous reference to the lack of sanitary controls as contributing factors".

It stated that ISA has been been found in most salmon farming countries and is today controlled by strict government regulations.

"The article lacks merit by referencing the use of hormones to make the fish grow faster. Hormones have never been used in the history of salmon farming in Chile. This malicious statement that hormones are used is false and serves to dissuade consumers from eating farmed salmon, the safest of all fish according to the study requested by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and published by the Institute of Medicine," SOTA said.

"Equally irresponsible is the unfounded implication that farmed salmon must be to blame for the reduced catch and flabby texture of the locally caught robalo. A sound bite from a local fisherman might add spice to the article, but it does little to add to its credibility."

SOTA said it is important to note that the infrequent administration of approved antibiotics to farmed salmon is done only under the close supervision by certified veterinarians and complies with all governmental regulations - just as it does in the cattle, pork and the poultry industries.

"A zero tolerance of antibiotics residue is mandatory in farmed salmon and all production is controlled before harvesting is permitted by the Chilean government as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is patently false to state that consumers will be purchasing farmed salmon with any type of medicinal residue."

SOTA is a US based non-profit association of US, Chilean, and Canadian salmon farming companies. Its mission is to promote the health benefits of eating salmon.

www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend