Atlantic Salmon Shortage's Ripple Effect

Production of Salmonc Down by One-Third As Virus Menaces Chilean Farmers

(CBS)  In Chile's northern Patagonia, in channels sheltered by the Andes Mountains, the salmon are dying, CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports.

At fish farms, divers check for signs of a waterborne virus called ISA: Infectious Salmon Anemia.

Harmless to humans and deadly to Atlantic salmon, it's the mostly popular fresh fish to eat for American consumers.

ISA has killed millions of salmon in Chile.

Adolfo Alvial was production manager at Marine Harvest, the world's biggest salmon company.

Strassmann asked, "How demoralizing was it when all of a sudden you had all of these dead fish?"

"Terrible," said Adolfo. "I mean terrible."

In some areas there were too many farms, producing too many fish in an area that was too small. Once the virus hit, it struck almost everywhere.

In Chile, second only to Norway as the world's largest salmon producer, production has plummeted by a third: from 227,000 tons last year to 150,000 tons this year.

America's fish importers have felt it. Outside Atlanta, Joel Knox's company once imported 75,000 pounds of Chilean salmon a week. That's dropped by two-thirds.

"I think it's a disaster, not so much a crisis. I think it's past the point of being a crisis," said Knox.

A disaster that means higher prices to American consumers. Just last December, the retail price of salmon has jumped 52 percent from $2.88 a pound to $4.38 a pound.

To save their industry, Chilean farmers are tracking the virus. And farms will take turns shutting down to give the environment a rest.

But until this industry recovers, you'll pay more for Atlantic salmon.

[superdem1]

Tilapia is a freshwater fish, native to the lakes of Africa. They would die in an oceanic environment. I had no idea Chile had salmon farms, but what do I know. I have heard that these farms pollute the ocean floor with wastes - wouldn't fish wastes and old fish food actually be a resource, farm and garden fertilizer ? Could it not be collected, dried, and sold ? It would be organic and chemical free, I would think. Collectors under the fish pens might capture the wastes before they fall to the ocean floor. Ammonia levels would still skyrocket, not sure what to do about that.

[Stevenapoli7]

I prefer wild Alaskan sockeye salmon.

[armyoftwelve]

This is what you run into when you have huge monocultures. The surprise isn't that it is happening but rather that it has taken SO long to finally happen.

The article doesn't even bother to mention all the water quality problems that occur as a result of so much fish poop and food leftovers that are byproducts of this type of farming.

Over the long haul, it will probably be better to raise different types of fish (such as tilapia) and shellfish in these areas.