The Differentiated Impact of Sea Lice Treatments on Salmon Centers Unit Production Costs

• Main Authors: Dresdner, Jorge, Chávez, Carlos, Quiroga, Miguel
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English; unknown
• Subjects: Seafood > Marketing; Aquaculture > Economic aspects; Seafood industry > Congresses; Fishery management > Congresses; Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/conference_proceedings_or_journals/41687k069

This paper measures the impact that the sanitary treatments aiming to reduce the abundance of sea lice Caligus rogercresseyi have on the unit production costs of Atlantic salmon fattening centers in Southern Chile. We make use of unique data that allows us to follow complete production cycles for a sample of centers between 2009 and 2013. We estimate a salmon biomass growth model, which later is complemented with outside cost information on treatments, such as bath treatment costs, medication costs, and operational costs associated with treatments. The statistical analysis determines the effect of different treatments on the salmon growth profile. The model also allows identifying the effect that factors such as center location, environmental conditions, sea lice abundance in the area, etc., have on salmon growth. We simulate how unit production costs vary with different treatments and center characteristics, and estimate the impact of treatments costs on unit production costs. Proceedings of the Eighteenth Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, held July 11-15, 2016 at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Center (AECC), Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.