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| 19 March, 2010 |
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| Should other nations follow Alaska's lead in using aquaculture as part of a fishery enhancement programme? |
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Multinationals in salmon farm crisis, seminar told 22 May, 2007 -
Ecoceanos is a non-governmental and non- profit organisation in Chile that promotes the protection of the oceans, sustainable fisheries and responsible aquaculture, reports Growfish. On May 16 2007, Ecoceanos organised the seminar in Puerto Montt, Chile, on the "Use of Antibiotics and the Health of Salmon Workers". The event was hosted by the international Pure Salmon Campaign and the Health Authority of Chile’s Los Lagos Region. The main unions representing fishing industry workers and salmon farm workers participated, and keynote speeches were made by leading national and international authorities. The seminar noted that in the United States and the European Union, the use of antibiotics in general is highly restricted. But in Chile, such chemicals are used in massive doses, particularly in salmon farming. According to Ecoceanos, Chile uses 75 -100 times more antibiotics per tonne of salmon than Norway. Impacts include rising infection rates from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and contamination from antibiotic residues in salmon destined for human consumption. While the use of these substances in Chile for human medicine increased from 5 to 18 tonnes between 1988 and 2005, over the same period, imports of antibiotics for veterinary medicine have increased from 60 to 160 tonnes. But no information is available from the State, the companies, or scientific research institutions on the absolute quantity or the form in which antibiotics, administered daily to farmed salmon, are used. The seminar made an urgent call for banning the use of the latest generation of antibiotics, like quinolones and fluoroquinolones in the production of salmon and other animals for direct human consumption. In the EU and North America, such use of these chemicals has been banned for many years, in line with the World Health Organisation’s strategy for combating microbial resistance to antibiotics. The Head of the Working Environment and Conditions Unit (UCYMAT) of Chile’s National Labour Directorate provided statistics on the high levels of labour infractions in the salmon sector. These have increased by 70 per cent in recent years, where the most violated norms are those dealing with health and safety and “the right to know”. Many workers are ignorant about the risks that they are exposed to in carrying out their tasks, let alone from handling antibiotics or other noxious chemicals. He stated that transnational companies operating in Chile must comply with national laws and adhere to global standards such as the OECD guidelines and the ILO rules governing multinationals. Over the last 27 months, 38 workers have died in this multi-million dollar industry, where 40 per cent of the production comes from multinational companies. Currently, judgement is pending against two senior executives at the Chamiza plant of the Norwegian-owned multinational company Marine Harvest for involuntary homicide. The family of the worker, Javier Velásquez Millán, who died aged 24 on 14 December 2005 in an accident at work at the plant, is pursuing a compensation claim against the company. Marine Harvest has come in for some severe criticism in the way it has handled this and other cases relating to health and safety at work. Industrial salmonid farming in Chile has grown spectacularly over the last 15 years to become one of the most dynamic sectors of the Chilean economy. But plans to triple salmon production by 2013 have received a major setback. For the last three years there has no been no increase in production, and recent reports describe how salmon companies are struggling to cope with disease outbreaks and parasite infestations. This is a crisis that the sector has brought upon itself. It has shown a high disregard both for the environment and for the sustainable and equitable social development of the areas where salmon aquaculture has been introduced. The answer must not be more of the same in Chile’s most southern XI Region, where the industry plans to move to take advantage of the pristine marine environment. This model of intensive aquaculture is clearly not sustainable, and is damaging to the environment, and to the health and safety of workers. www.fishfarmer-magazine.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publishes FISHupdate.com, FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.
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