Chile’s environment agency has initiated sanction proceedings against salmon producer Salmones Aysén for the escape of around 27,000 Coho salmon from its farm in Calbuco, in the Los Ríos Region, on September 30, 2019.
Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA), the environment agency, has filed two charges against the company, one considered “very serious” and another considered “serious.”
The first infraction is based on the fact that the company did not maintain the minimum safety conditions of the farming gear that regulations required, which led to the escape of the fish.
“The licensee did not carry out the respective semi-annual and annual verification of the cultivation modules, their constituent elements and the complete anchoring system. In relation to the nets (cultivation gear), the daily revisions promised in the environmental evaluation were not carried out to prevent the escape of fish from cage 104. The tensor was poorly installed, a fact that increased the wear of the mesh material and this was also not detected in a timely manner,” said the SMA, as cited by Chilean news outlet El Mostrador.
The second – less serious – offense is for the late implementation of contingency plan for fish escape.
Read also: 5,000 fish recaptured from Salmones Aysen Chile escape
Both infractions could result to the revocation of the salmon producer’s farming permit, fines and/or closure.
Salmones Aysén has 10 business days to present a compliance program and 15 business days to fight the charges.
