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[Aisen Reserva de Vida] Desertifying the Patagonian Sea

[Aisen Reserva de Vida] Desertifying the Patagonian Sea

The colossal use of antimicrobials in commercial salmon farming in Chile presents dangers for the health of animals, people and the environment, describes in a column for CIPER a specialist on the subject. Faced with the support of authorities for the expansion of salmon farming in protected areas, he warns: "More than a specific pathogen, diverse information and investigations seem to point to the fact that it is the generalized and uncontrolled overproduction in the industry that is the major cause of the high mortalities of fish due to infections".

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[Ciper] 95 cases of salmon overproduction in national reserves without sanction (part 2)

[Ciper] 95 cases of salmon overproduction in national reserves without sanction (part 2)

A series of violations of environmental regulations by the salmon industry are set to expire this May if the Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) does not file the appropriate charges. Thus, the harvesting of more than 67,000 tons of salmon in excess of the authorized limits by nine companies with a presence in the National Reserves of Las Guaitecas and Kawésqar will remain without fine or sanction. This investigation for CIPER by the Terram Foundation exposes in two parts the details of these huge private operations and their effects on the fauna and natural environment that hosts them, in the midst of the expansion of the industry to Magallanes. 

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[Ciper] 95 cases of overproduction of salmon in national reserves without sanction (part 1)

[Ciper] 95 cases of overproduction of salmon in national reserves without sanction (part 1)

A series of violations of environmental regulations by the salmon industry are set to expire this May if the Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) does not file the appropriate charges. Thus, the harvesting of more than 67,000 tons of salmon in excess of the authorized limits by nine companies with a presence in the National Reserves of Las Guaitecas and Kawésqar will remain without fine or sanction. This investigation for CIPER by the Terram Foundation exposes in two parts the details of these huge private operations and their effects on the fauna and natural environment that hosts them, in the midst of the expansion of the industry to Magallanes. 

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[Ciper] Legal non-compliance of salmon businesses that the government agreed to relocate

[Ciper] Legal non-compliance of salmon businesses that the government agreed to relocate

In the midst of the debate on the illegitimacy of lobbying between fishing companies and government authorities, an agreement has been announced that grants the relocation of nine concessions to two companies that have ongoing sanctioning procedures at the SMA and have incurred in grounds for expiration, for different reasons. A member of the Terram Foundation details the characteristics of each of these irregularities, of which the government should have been aware at the time of granting the permits. The situation, at least, "raises doubts about the environmental standards of the relocation policy and whether the authorities reviewed these antecedents before signing and taking the photo", according to his analysis.

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[Ciper] At Pablo Zalaquett's house: the secretive meeting where ministers Grau and Rojas brought positions closer to salmon industry

[Ciper] At Pablo Zalaquett's house: the secretive meeting where ministers Grau and Rojas brought positions closer to salmon industry

The meeting between business leaders and the ministers of Economy and Environment was not registered in Infolobby, despite the fact that it was called by a figure who has signed up as a lobbyist in that platform: Pablo Zalaquett, former mayor and former senatorial candidate indicted in cases of illegal political financing. Among those summoned were leaders of the salmon industry. CIPER consulted Ministers Grau and Rojas for the names of the attendees, but they were not disclosed. Three weeks after the meeting, the government presented the new Fishing Law. Minister Grau ruled out that this topic was part of the conversation. One of the attendees was Rodrigo Sarquis, owner of Blumar, a company dedicated to fishing and aquaculture.

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[La Tercera] Salmon farming unions evaluate legal actions against government's decision to halt concessions in protected areas

[La Tercera] Salmon farming unions evaluate legal actions against government's decision to halt concessions in protected areas

At the moment they envision two ways to eventually launch an attack against the Ministry of the Environment's decision. The first one points to an appeal for protection, appealing to the freedom of enterprise guaranteed by the Constitution, and should be processed before the Court of Appeals of Santiago, while the second route would be through an injunction before the Comptroller General of the Republic.

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[Ciper] The microbiological threat of salmon farming to our health

[Ciper] The microbiological threat of salmon farming to our health

The colossal use of antimicrobials in commercial salmon farming in Chile presents dangers for the health of animals, people and the environment, describes in a column for CIPER a specialist on the subject. Faced with the support of authorities for the expansion of salmon farming in protected areas, he warns: "More than a specific pathogen, diverse information and investigations seem to point to the fact that it is the generalized and uncontrolled overproduction in the industry that is the major cause of the high mortalities of fish due to infections".

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[El Mostrador] Strong presence of antibiotics from salmon farming in Chiloé found, putting biodiversity at risk

[El Mostrador] Strong presence of antibiotics from salmon farming in Chiloé found, putting biodiversity at risk

Juan Navedo, an academic of the PhD in Marine Biology and PhD in Ecology and Evolution of the Faculty of Sciences of the Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh), found, through research, a strong presence of antibiotics in the coastal wetlands of the island of Chiloé, evidencing the widespread presence of bacteria resistant to these drugs that endanger wildlife on a global scale and the treatment of diseases in both animals and humans.

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[Ciper] New salmon escape in Los Lagos: a political problem

[Ciper] New salmon escape in Los Lagos: a political problem

Two weeks ago 800,000 salmon escaped from a farm in Reloncaví Sound. This is the latest example of a cyclical disaster: between 2010 and 2018 there were 87 similar events. The authors do not see here "accidents" but rather problems of oversight and sanction originating in a regulation that has focused on "providing sanitary guarantees to the industry" and only marginally on strengthening environmental care. The authors emphasize that the salmon industry condenses many contradictions of the Chilean economic model, as it owes its successful global insertion and high level of competitiveness to "processes of environmental degradation and territorial inequality".

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[El Mostrador] The impact of salmon farming on the acidification of the sea and anoxia in Chilean Patagonia

[El Mostrador] The impact of salmon farming on the acidification of the sea and anoxia in Chilean Patagonia

According to Sernapesca, there have been more than 600 aquaculture concessions that generated anaerobic conditions (the majority of salmon and the minority of mithilids) in our sea. With these numbers the reduction of oxygen would be 35-118 times more than that attributed to global climate change; and the reduction of pH in the water would be 10 times greater (8.1 to 7.1 at the bottom), corresponding to an acidification of 900%. Oxygen depletion at these levels causes suffocation and death of most organisms, and such acidification levels would prevent the formation of shells and calcareous skeletons of very many marine organisms.

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