Chilean salmon industry onlookers and insiders are on edge as higher sea lice concentrations force authorities to step up efforts to combat the scourge of the salmon farming industry.

A mixture of mechanical and pharmacological treatments is likely to be deployed to combat rising sea lice numbers in Chile, at least in the short to medium term as the industry continues to seek longer-term solutions to the problem.

"The coming summer in Chile will be very challenging," said Sparebank 1 analyst Tore Tonseth.