At the meeting, the authority was asked to instruct the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture to review the cases of circumvention of the Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA) by companies of companies operating within protected areas, and Sernapesca to carry out exhaustive inspections of salmon farms. Minister Grau indicated that the background information will be analyzed to determine whether action should be taken by his office.
Santiago, October 8, 2024. In order to present the Save Patagonia campaign, whose purpose is to withdraw salmon farming concessions from protected areas in Patagonia, without relocation, members of the Alliance for the Defense of Protected Areas met with the Minister of Economy, Nicolás Grau.
On the occasion, the authority was requested to instruct the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) to review the cases of circumvention of the Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA) of companies with of companies with concessions inside the Magdalena Island and San Rafael Lagoon National Parks.
"We have had a meeting with Salvemos la Patagonia, where they have mainly raised concerns about the non-compliance with the law in the case of salmon farming companies, particularly in protected areas. We are going to review the new information and study it to see if there is anything we can amend in this regard," said Minister Grau.
Likewise, the Minister of Economy was asked to instruct the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) to carry out exhaustive inspections of salmon farms operating within protected areas in Patagonia, since without the complaint to the Undersecretariat for the Armed Forces (SSFFAA), the centers in cause of expiration continue to operate, as shown in the report No. 9 of the Comptroller General of the Republic, dated August 2024. In this regard, Eduardo König, lawyer of Fundación Terram and member of the alliance, explained: "As an example, in June 2022, Fundación Terram identified 280 salmon farming concessions within protected areas that should have expired. However, Sernapesca only reported 58 of these concessions to the SSFFAA".
Erwin Sandoval, president of the Private Corporation for the Development of Aysén (Codesa), also part of the alliance, said: "It has become evident that the illegalities and environmental non-compliance of the salmon industry, in addition to severe socio-environmental impacts, have caused a serious impact on the regional economy. In this context, the lack of productive diversification in the southern regions of Chile and how this industry is subsidized, allowing it to operate within Protected Areas, cannot be ignored".
The meeting was also attended by Fernando Pardo, member of the Citizen Observatory, who added: "The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David Boyd, in his visit to Chile last year, warned about the risks and threats to biodiversity from the salmon industry in Patagonia, and this campaign that we are presenting to the Minister of Economy today is along the same lines, especially with regard to protected areas".
The meeting with Minister Grau is the first of several in an agenda that will continue in the National Congress in Valparaíso, the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and the SSFFAA, with the objective of publicizing the Save Patagonia campaign, promoted to date by 45 national and international organizations. There are currently 408 salmon industry concessions within Patagonia's protected areas, which constitutes 30% of the total 1380 distributed in Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes.
For more information, visit the website www.salvemoslapatagonia.cl and the campaign's social networks.
Instagram: @salvemoslapatagonia
Facebook: @salvemoslapatagoniachile
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