Yesterday, at the Global Seafood Expo in Barcelona, Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA) launched the CSARP+ initiative, beginning the next phase of its work to reduce the use of antibiotics in Chilean salmon farming companies.
Continuing the MBA’s work to improve the environmental sustainability of the Chilean salmon industry, the initiative, based on affiliated members, evaluates and recognizes companies that individually lead efforts to reduce antibiotic use, as reported to through its website.
Farmed salmon is one of the most consumed and appreciated fish in the United States, and about half of what is imported comes from Chile. Most of this product is classified as red by the program called Seafood Watch, and it is mainly due to the high use of antibiotics, since they represent a risk to the environment and human health. This includes helping to combat the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which has become a global health problem.
“The problems associated with the overuse of antibiotics in farmed seafood are widely documented. To improve sustainability, it is necessary to identify what the challenges are, and come together to promote solutions that reduce the use of antibiotics,” said Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly, MBA vice president of Global Ocean Conservation, when making the announcement.
In 2019, MBA worked in collaboration with the Chilean salmon farming industry to launch the Chilean Salmon Antibiotic Reduction Program (CSARP). Through this initiative, companies in the union, which represent 95% of salmon production in Chile, committed to reducing the use of antibiotics by 50% by 2025.
Although CSARP established itself as a model of transparency and cooperation, a 2022 progress report revealed that faster action is needed, as while some companies are leading change in the industry, others have not lived up to their expectations. reduction commitments.
“To address the growing demand from those who consume salmon in the United States, and at the same time mitigate threats to the environment and human health, the CSARP+ initiative encourages companies to act by granting individual and name recognition to those that have high performance. This, with the expectation that companies that source from Chile choose to do so with their products,” said Dianto Kemmerly.
Individual goals
To earn CSARP+ status, companies must continue to meet new individual reduction goals each year. CSARP+ members also agreed to share data on their progress, demonstrate that continuous improvements have been made, and present evidence of innovations and collaboration.
“Increasing access to responsibly sourced products requires producers to be willing to take a leadership position by adopting best practices. This in order to protect the supply of healthy protein and have a healthy environment. “We recognize and commend CSARP+ companies for their innovation efforts to reduce antibiotic use in farmed salmon.”
“Based on scientific foundations, CSARP+ demonstrates that acting responsibly can benefit the company’s financial results, as it allows it to generate a premium price when buyers decide to incentivize Chilean salmon farmers to join this improvement initiative. This financial gain It would only be for those companies that participate and show continuous improvements,” commented Bill DiMento, vice president of Corporate Sustainability and Government Affairs, at High Liner Foods.
The founding members of CSARP+ are Australis Seafoods, Blumar, Camanchaca, Cermaq, Cooke Chile, Multi X and Nova Austral.
Combined, these seven companies produce more than half of the Atlantic salmon farmed in Chile. MBA will continue to work with other CSARP members to move forward, with the expectation that more companies will join CSARP+ in the future.
This initiative is a reflection of the MBA’s commitment to protecting the health of the ocean, and at the same time, responding to the growing demand for food through collaboration between industry and governments, in order to improve the sustainability of aquaculture and marine fisheries. everyone.
