In order to consolidate the public-private and academic partnership to support the strategic guidelines directly with the WOAH Regional Office for the Americas, the University of Chile, through Favet and the CASA Reference Center, and the Salmon Council, a trade association formed by the companies AquaChile, Australis Seafoods, Cermaq, Mowi, and Salmones Aysén, strengthened their collaboration agreement, reinforcing the country's commitment to animal health, aquaculture sustainability, and the responsible use of antimicrobials.

The Center for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Aquaculture (CASA) is the only WOAH Reference Center dedicated to the aquaculture sector in the Americas and is comprised of renowned research teams from different faculties at the University of Chile. Since its formation in 2022, it has positioned itself globally with outstanding technical-scientific and transdisciplinary leadership in challenges such as the implementation of international standards related to the responsible use of antimicrobials, disease prevention, and sustainable productivity.

Emmanuelle Soubeyran, Directora General, and Francisco D’AlessioRegional Representative for the Americas of the World Salmon Association (WOAH), traveled to our country on a visit led by the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), the official veterinary service for the international organization. Within the framework of this agenda, the meeting is taking place in the city of Puerto Varas to sign the updated partnership agreement between the University of Chile and the Salmon Council.

“This alliance reflects our commitment to developing sustainable, evidence-based aquaculture. At the University of Chile, and through the work of Favet and the CASA Reference Center, we seek to contribute to a strategy that can guide work in the region under the WOAH guidelines, strengthening international cooperation and the technical role of our professionals on key issues such as the responsible use of antimicrobials and animal welfare,” said José Manuel Yáñez, dean of Favet.

For her part, Loreto Seguel, executive president of the Salmon Council, stated that "this agreement seeks to consolidate how the public-private and academic partnership can become a driving force for the development of sustainable aquaculture in the Americas, promoting technical collaboration, generating knowledge, and building a shared regional agenda around aquaculture health, sustainability, and governance."

Also attending the meeting were Carlos Orellana, head of the SAG's Livestock Protection Division and Chile's official delegate to the WOAH; Mónica Rojas, deputy director of Aquaculture at the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA); Javiera Cornejo, professor at Favet and executive director of the CASA Reference Center; Alicia Gallardo, senior researcher at CASA and president of the OMSA Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission; and professionals from the aforementioned organizations.

The articulation of this alliance between the productive sector, public services, and academia promotes technical collaboration, knowledge generation, and the construction of a common regional agenda around aquaculture health, sustainability, and governance.

In this regard, the WOAH Director General stated that “it is very important that the university can put its expertise at the service of industry. So, it's a very good public-private partnership that will be very useful for the industry, and for the public as well; especially if we're talking about helping the industry reduce the use of antimicrobials. This is in the interest of the industry, the country, and the public, so I believe it's a win-win collaboration.”

Francisco D’Alessio, as regional representative for the Americas, emphasized that "the WHO has had a comprehensive strategy for several years that includes all the different aspects of animal health, use of antimicrobials, animal welfare, the development of international standards , and their implementation. Now, with this collaboration, we will develop a regional framework to outline the priorities and actions we need to take in the Americas in this area. The goal is to present this proposal to our member countries in the region and thus provide a guide for our actions in all these areas to improve aquatic animal health”.

The updated collaboration agreement includes technical meetings, cooperation visits, training activities, and the generation of proposals for the development of regional public policies on aquatic health, with an approach based on scientific evidence and multilateral collaboration.