Winter storm wreaked havoc on fish farm in Chile.
Last Thursday Marine Harvest Chile notified local authorities of an escape from the Punta Redonda site. The farm complex is located at Isla Huar, just out from the salmon capital Puerto Montt.
High waves and gale force winds pummelled the production site, causing major damage.
The farm construction was delivered and moored in 2017, and is designed specifically for exposed conditions. No employees were injured as a result of the incident.
Marine Harvest wrote in a press release Friday evening: “Due to weather conditions it has not been possible to inspect the damage at the farm, but Marine Harvest has established that fish have escaped. Although it is not possible at this time to quantify the escape, we believe the incident has led to a significant number of fish having escaped. Once weather conditions permit, the entire production site will be inspected and the company will then be able to ascertain a clearer impression of the extent of the damage”.
Communications Director Eivind Nævdal-Bolstad informed Salmon Business that the site contained around 900,000 fish averaging 3.4 kilos in weight.
Marine Harvest Chile has implemented a number of measures following the incident, and recapture of the fish will be initiated together with local fishermen as soon as weather conditions allow this.
Marine Harvest, local authorities and suppliers are now investigating how the damage was able to occur. All plant will be inspected in the immediate future to ensure it can weather similar weather conditions.
