The ongoing challenges and opportunities of the freshwater phase in Chilean salmon farming

Last Friday, a new version of the webinar "Catching Up" was held, organized by the Aquaculture Innovation Club. On this occasion, the topic discussed was "Challenges and opportunities in the freshwater phase", which was presented by Hugo Cajas, Freshwater Production Manager at Salmones Camanchaca.

At the event, the professional identified various challenges and gaps for this productive phase. Firstly, he referred to the quality of the smolt. "Here I add the surname robustness to the quality. Normally we talk about smolt quality thinking that it is a fish that comes smoltified, well prepared to enter the sea. Robustness must go hand in hand with quality. There is a consensus on what a good smolt is. It is a fish that eats well, grows well, dies little, and ultimately overcomes the stress events it is exposed to when entering the sea. However, we do not have a consensus on how to see this quality or how to measure it. I think we have a significant challenge here, that is, to standardize this quality. I believe this gap can be better covered with artificial intelligence (AI) to try to determine those main variables that will ultimately define what the quality of the smolt really is."

Secondly, he commented on water quality, particularly the quality of water during transport, as he believes that excellent water quality can be maintained in fish farms, but during transport the water may be of poor quality and this can undermine an entire year of cultivation in a matter of hours. "Monitoring and checking this parameter continuously, whether in transport, is a very important gap to consider," added Cajas, who noted that climate change has led to a deterioration in both the quality and quantity of water. "We face the challenge of giving a better and more efficient use to water. In my opinion, we should be more concerned about using less water, and applying online, real-time monitoring of all critical parameters to the water we use," stated the executive.

In relation to health issues, Cajas pointed out that there are currently viral problems in fish farming, such as IPN, which had been quite controlled through QTL. "We must encourage researchers to develop new vaccines for this pathology. The same case for PRV, which also requires better vaccines. On the other hand, there are the gill issues, flavobacteriosis, and aeromonas. These last two diseases are responsible for the use of antibiotics in freshwater. Currently, the use of antibiotics in freshwater to combat these diseases is close to 6 tons, so we have a great challenge to reduce that figure".

"As for environmental challenges, there is a broad consensus at the level of fish farms to reduce the use of diesel in generators, and try to use clean energies, thinking about the carbon footprint," the professional indicated.

Operational Challenges

Cajas also referred to operational challenges, particularly fish escapes. “I believe we need to reinforce our monitoring and control system in fish farms, as well as having the possibility of using other types of tools to try to mitigate the issue of using 'all-female' fish stocks, which are old techniques that can be used. Canada is very knowledgeable about this implementation, to prevent breeding or contact with native species and also sterile fish, as another major challenge, apart from all the evident control we must have and the care in our operations and infrastructure to try to prevent escapes.”

In relation to truck traffic, the executive believes that the major challenge is the speed at which they travel. "We have been operating with an external company for three years now, which provides us with speed control services for our trucks and their operations, primarily in the most sensitive areas, such as in front of schools and important communities. We have control over this matter, where a report is issued that is shared with the community. It is a very important challenge in light of what the communities are telling us."

"The same goes for visual pollution. It is a topic that is seldom discussed, but it exists. It is another major complaint from the communities. At this point, there is a tremendous opportunity to seek strategic alliances with schools, technical high schools, or universities that offer degrees in architecture or design, where together this issue can be addressed to try to mitigate the issue of visual pollution at our cultivation centers. Noise is another major point that is in the complaints from the communities, and for fish farmers, it is something we are used to hearing and living with. However, this generates significant impacts on the communities adjacent to our operations. Therefore, the challenge is clearly to take responsibility," explained Cajas.

Waste

In the case of Riles, the executive from Salmones Camanchaca emphasized the importance of having characterized the discharges, particularly their nitrogen and phosphorus content, which can generate some impacts on the discharge, in some receiving water bodies and that can even lead to eutrophication of the place through the contribution of these two components. And in recirculation, the use of sodium chloride and the impact on the riles. “The challenge is clearly to take charge, to have better purification, better control regarding our discharges”.

The sludge, according to the professional, is another big point. “Currently there are several companies that are in line with 100% circularity. I believe this is a product. We have been making compost with our sludge for three years for the production of biogas. That is, the sludge is a product that used to go to landfill and, nowadays, is being used as raw material for a byproduct that is finally transformed into electrical energy and that can be made available in an interconnected system for public use. Therefore, I believe that a permanent challenge exists and there is a way to overcome it”.

Animal Welfare

For Cajas, a major issue is welfare, where fish farms are concerned and are focusing their KPIs, thinking about smolt quality, water quality, current and future farming densities, and even fish behavior records. "It is a concept that is being widely discussed and is here to stay, because it is becoming increasingly important to address it."

Referring to genetics, Cajas pointed out that one of the major problems in the industry, particularly at the seawater stage, is SRS. "We know that, in this regard, there are significant advances from the different genetic groups. And we are all working on it. As a company, we also have our own program and are 100% focused on solving this challenge. However, I consider that genetics is focusing on the traditional, such as diseases. Therefore, I think we also need to think about trying to find robust individuals, who have tolerance to hypoxia, tolerance to currents, to microalgae, that is, to broaden our view to think that genetics should also support us beyond disease control."

“Another tremendously important and challenging issue, in my opinion, is the issue of genetic diversity. And by this I mean that this industry cannot depend on a single strain, on a single genetic line. The challenge here is to have such genetic diversity that if tomorrow we face any crisis, we are prepared to make a significant change in that line,” emphasized the professional.