FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2007

CONTACT:
Kymberly Escobar, 202-887-8814

Statement by Andrea Kavanagh, Director, Pure Salmon Campaign

On New Chilean Government Initiatives to Combat Sea Lice

Washington — In a letter (Spanish original, English translation) to the Pure Salmon Campaign received July 9, 2007, the Chilean National Fisheries Service (SernaPesca) announced new initiatives to combat the spread of Caligus (sea lice), a parasite threatening a significant percentage of Chile's farmed salmon exports. SernaPesca's letter was in response to a letter dated April 18, 2007 from the Pure Salmon Campaign which called upon the Chilean National Fisheries Service to reveal the full extent of the sea lice, disease and mortality problem in Chile.

"This is the first time that SernaPesca has officially acknowledged the extent of the sea lice problem in Chile. SernaPesca has included sea lice on list of high risk diseases, which will enable the government to implement official control programs designed to control the disease. But this is just the first step.

"The government of Chile needs to take the long view. The sea lice problem in Chile has been exacerbated by mismanagement and overuse of chemicals leading to resistance in sea lice. Dumping more chemicals into Chile's beautiful fjords would only be a recipe for further degradation.

"Given rising concerns about the breakdown in global surveillance of food production as recently exhibited in the import alert on Chinese seafood, we would caution the Chilean government to proceed carefully when considering the use new chemicals. We know from food import alerts issued by the Canadian government that Chilean farmed salmon already has been found to contain unacceptable levels of Emamectin/Ivermectin - chemicals used to treat sea lice.

"The FDA should show more concern for the American public and begin testing Chilean salmon for Emamectin and increase its testing for Ivermectin. Until testing is increased, consumers should be cautious when choosing Chilean farmed salmon."

"If the Chilean government is serious about combating the problem of sea lice outbreaks, ultimately it needs to move to closed systems that separate the farmed fish from the natural environment."

• The Pure Salmon Campaign's April 18, 2007 letter to the Chilean National Fisheries Service
• The Chilean National Fisheries Service July 5, 2007 response letter to the Pure Salmon Campaign:
  • Spanish Original
  • English Translation

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The Pure Salmon Campaign is a global project of the National Environmental Trust. It has partners in the United States, Canada, the European Union and Chile all working to improve the way salmon is produced.