Continued high survival rate in all regions

Good fish health and low mortality are important in our salmon farming. The survival rate for our fish for the full year 2017 spanned from 94 % to 96% in our operating regions. Cermaq had no escapes in the last quarter of 2017, neither so far in 2018.

Fish survival for Atlantic salmon, measured as a rolling 12 months rate, continues at high levels, and the same high survival rates apply for Coho and Rainbow trout raised in Chile.

Challenges to fish health are managed primarily by preventive measures. Still, if there are any sick animals they must be treated for animal welfare reasons. In Norway, none of the fish harvested in the last quarter of 2017 had received antibiotic treatment. In Chile and in Canada the need for antibiotic treatment for the fish harvested in the quarter was reduced from same quarter last year. Still, our ambition is to further reduce the need for treatment.

The OHS performance remains strong, with a global absence rate of 2.2 %, spanning from 1.8 % in Chile to 4.9 % in Norway. For Norway as a whole, this is lower than the general level of absentees of 6.5 % in the last quarter.

Cermaq has published quarterly sustainability results on key indicators related to fish health, environmental and social topics in our operations since the beginning of 2016.