The Chilean salmon industry – the second largest in the world – is reportedly using record quantities of antibiotics to treat salmon suffering from salmonid rickettsial septicemia ( SRS ) , a disease that causes haemorrhaging , kidney damage , and even death . Chilean salmon farmers used 650 grams of antibiotics last year and the consumption rate reached 660 grams per tonne of fish – the highest in nine years . High levels of antibiotic use are affecting sales to the US where fears of drug - resistant superbugs are increasingly leading customers and retailers to choose antibiotic - free produce . Last year , fishermen abandoned Chilean farmed salmon in favour of salmon from Norway where antibiotic use is lower . Algal blooms in Chile ’s coastal waters have also led to a 15 % reduction in salmon stocks costing at least $ 800 m .
The Chilean salmon industry – the second largest in the world – is reportedly using record levels of antibiotics to treat fish suffering from salmonid rickettsial septicemia (SRS), a disease that causes haemorrhaging, kidney damage, and even death. Chilean salmon farmers used 557 tonnes of antibiotics last year and the consumption rate reached 660 grams per tonne of fish – the highest in nine years. High levels of antibiotic use are affecting sales to the US where fears of drug-resistant superbugs are increasingly leading customers and retailers to choose antibiotic-free produce. Last year, Costco abandoned Chilean farmed salmon in favour of salmon from Norway where antibiotic use is lower. Algal blooms in Chile’s coastal waters have also led to a 15% reduction in salmon production costing at least $800m.