Future directions of Chilean ecotoxicology: Implications for the environmental risk assessment of veterinary products used in aquaculture

The bidirectional relationship that aquaculture has with the environment set limits to the growth this economic activity has in Chile. This condition has generated both technical constraints and environmental as well as social conflicts. The growing demand for new chemotherapeutic compounds and their release into aquatic environments is now considered one of the main problems being faced by the salmon industry in Chile. However, little is known about the effects these substances exert on non-target species and on the structure and functioning of exposed ecosystems. Through the application of theory and methods from contemporary ecology, the present work aims at contributing towards the development of a methodology that allows a reduction of the uncertainty level associated to the environmental risk assessment of veterinary products used in aquaculture. The current status of the environmental risk assessment in Chile is revised and those critical aspects feasible to fix are identified, considering the procedures currently in use. Finally, a general methodological approach is proposed that considers a coherent expansion of standard ecotoxicological tests combining research at community, population, and individual levels, with mathematical modeling of ecological systems.