The Chilean salmon industry has suffered the effects of harmful algal blooms on its production and farming cost. In order to find out what is the microalgae effect in salmonids and to be able to study the best way to combat it, Salmofood partnered with North Patagonia, a company that has been studying algal blooms in the area for more than five years.

A team from North Patagonia is working at the Salmofood Experimental Aquaculture Center (CEA) located in Quillaipe, where they grow microalgae to mitigate the effects of those that are harmful to salmon. Marine biologist from the Universidad Austral de Chile and executive director of North Patagonia, Claudia Uribe, is leading this project. “We want to find components in microalgae that can be used for treatments and thus reduce loads of parasites in salmon or obtain products that we can add to fish feed with a higher nutritional value,” said Uribe.

“We are aware of the environmental risks to which all salmon farming is exposed, so this type of agreement is essential to deliver better tools to our customers and preventive action,” said Ernesto Passalacqua, business manager of Salmofood.

This study, unprecedented in Chile, has already been carried out in Norway with very good results.