Yesterday was the second day of AquaSur 2024, which was classified as multi-thematic in relation to the panels and exhibitions that took place during the day. The first panel focused on Animal Welfare, in which Luiz Mazzon, Director of the Global Program of Humane Farm Animal Care and Dr. Rosangela Poletto, member of the Scientific Committee of Humane Farm Animal Care, who then joined a panel discussion with Katherine Martinez, Animal Welfare Advisor of Cermaq Chile and Hernan Cañon, Animal Welfare Specialist and academic at the Universidad de Las Americas, UDLA. In his presentation, Mazzon referred to the launching of the Certified Humane Animal Welfare Seal for Atlantic salmon, which will begin to be incorporated this year in the Chilean salmon farming industry. “HFAC offers a market solution for both parties, that is, for the producer to have a communication tool to the market that demonstrates that his product is different and has added value, and for the consumer to identify in his many purchase options the product that is produced in accordance with his beliefs”, said the professional. “To be certified in this standard, we care about the results, that is, that the animal welfare indicators are well monitored, regardless of the production technology that the company has,” said Mazzon. Dr. Rosangela Poletto presented the critical points of the Welfare Certification of Atlantic salmon, emphasizing the positive interest of the Chilean salmon farming industry in knowing in depth the details of this certification. “The Certified Humane standard, for all species, begins when the animal is born, in this case, from the egg. We are based on the principle that animal welfare takes into account all phases of the animal’s life. When we talk about animal welfare, we refer to an integral concept, that is, taking into account nutrition, the environment, the specific details of each production phase, management, health, transport, stunning and slaughter”, emphasized the researcher. According to Dr. Poletto, the critical points in the salmon production chain are water quality in fish farms, handling of the fish during transport, density and mortality in culture centers, control of Caligus, among others, and she emphasized that the prophylactic use of antibiotics is not permitted by HFAC. Happy Salmon In the framework of the AquaSur 2024 international congress, and in a joint initiative between Salmonexpert and Fisa, the “Happy Salmon” award for animal welfare was presented. During the award ceremony, the presentations of the three finalist companies, companies selected after an evaluation process by the jury composed of Dr. José Manel Yáñez, dean of Favet; Dr. Hernán Cañón, expert in animal welfare, and Dr. José Manel Yáñez, dean of Favet; Dr. Hernán Cañón, expert in animal welfare, were presented. Hernán Cañón, expert in Animal Welfare and Behaviour and director of the Magister Bienestar Animal of UDLA; Paulo Palacios, Technical Manager of Salmones Antártica and partner of Mevea; Francisco Vallejos, Health Manager of Salmones Camanchaca and partner of Mevea; Marcelo Imilan, Technical Manager of Cermaq Chile; Paula Miranda, Business Unit Manager of Science, Health and Agri-Food of Fisa and Gian Paul Ricapito, General Manager and Executive Editor of Salmonexpert. After the presentations and the jury’s deliberation, the prize went to Aquabyte, with Aquabyte WISE-Welfare, a technology that uses an underwater camera to capture images of the fish and then, using computer vision and artificial intelligence, analyzes these images to provide the state of animal welfare in the cage, based on more than 15 welfare KPIs. In addition, in parallel, with this welfare data, the percentage of premium to be harvested in the cage is determined. Braian Wilhelm, Business Development Manager of Aquabyte, thanked for the recognition, specifying that participating in the “Happy salmon” was due to the fact that the company has been working and developing the technology for animal welfare for several years, and that it needed to be made known. “This technology is the result of a long development of models, improving accuracy, understanding what the customer needs and applying the technology to solve needs and deliver data for better decision making. Animal welfare in the salmon farming industry is something very important, not only for productive issues and because it has an economic impact based on growth and fillet quality, but it is also important from a human perspective. We have to understand that fish are living beings, sentient animals, so we have the responsibility as human beings to understand their situation, help them and take charge of this issue”, said the professional. Dr. Yáñez stressed that animal welfare is a very important aspect, not only in the aquaculture industry, but in any animal production industry, and that it aims to enhance health, productivity, efficiency and sustainability. “As Favet we are very pleased to have contributed to this initiative with an academic vision. It is interesting to see how a technology, such as artificial vision, allows us to improve some aspects of animal welfare.” Marcelo Imilan pointed out that Cermaq Chile plans to advance along the path of animal welfare, and the Happy Salmon initiative was an excellent opportunity to value something that is not yet as relevant in the industry as it should be. “The winning project was very solid and goes in the right direction. We have to use technology in the future, not only to favor production, but also to favor the fish. Hopefully many more young professionals will dare to explore new technologies for animal welfare.” “The salmon farming industry, hand in hand with constant innovation and new technologies, has progressively increased its production. However, caring for the welfare of fish is fundamental for a sustainable activity that respects the balance of ecosystems. In line with this mission, we wanted to present this award to those who are making efforts focused on this issue, because happy fish equals ethical and sustainable production,” said Gian Paul Ricapito, general manager of Salmonexpert. Source: Salmonexpert.cl