Norwegian-owned Nova Austral’s situation in Chile that got its licenses suspended is a case of a few bad apples and does not represent the general industry.
This is the sentiment of the Chilean Salmon Council, a guild made up of AquaChile, Australis, Cermaq, Mowi and Salmones Aysén, which together represent more than half of national salmon production.
Nova Austral was found to have widely exceeded the maximum authorized production limits at three of its farms in the Alberto de Agostini de Magallanes National Park.
The council said the vast majority of salmon producers in Chile are very respectful of the environment and any infringing companies must indeed be sanctioned.
“For several years, the salmon farming sector has been working decisively and focused on promoting environmental ethics, transparency, sustainability and constructive dialogue. In this context, we deeply regret that situations such as the one currently being carried out by Nova Austral, a company that is not part of this guild, are generated, and we are emphatic in rejecting these facts categorically and energetically, since they do not correspond to common practices or to the goals that we have set for ourselves within the salmon farming sector,” the council was quoted as saying by local news outlet Mundoaquicola.
Interestingly, two of the council’s members, Cermaq and Australis Mar, have also recently been cited for overproduction by the Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA), the same agency that revoked Nova Austral’s licenses.
But Nova Austral has been described as a “repeat offender,” forcing the SMA to “make a historic decision” to deliver a “clear signal” to those who violate the regulations. It is historic because this marks the first time SMA has penalized a salmon producer by revoking its licenses.
Nova Astral is appealing the case.
