New standards in light of Blumar incident.
In a statement, the Chilean Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) has announced new regulations that will put pressure on salmon farmers to reduce the risk of cages sinking or fish escapes.
The news comes after Blumar’s “Caucura” site, which contained up to 875,144 salmon average weight of 3.8kg, was hit by a storm last month. A structure containing 2,900 tonnes of salmon are currently on the seabed.
[COMUNICADO 📝] Subpesca impone mayores exigencias a jaulas salmoneras para evitar hundimientos y escape de peces 🐟. Conoce más detalles AQUÍ → https://t.co/1xek4Vdpu5 @meconomia @RomanZelayaR @sernapesca pic.twitter.com/Ngo61hTL8T
— Subpesca 🦭🇨🇱 (@SubpescaCL) August 10, 2020
The standard – which the department says will be published soon – considers a methodology related to the measurement of the various elements (currents, winds and waves, among others) that may impact on salmon cages.
“New regulations are part of the continuous review of the regulatory requirements that industry must submit to maintain high safety standards and environmental safeguards, and avoid episodes, such as a sinking of cages and fish escape that occurred a few weeks ago,” warned Undersecretary Román Zelaya.
