28,660 fish escaped.
On December 27 Chilean authorities received notification from Ventisqueros that there had been damages to the cages at the Tubildad site in the Los Lagos Region after a storm. Since then it has been unclear how many salmons that actually escaped after the incident.
First, Ventisqueros denied that any salmon escaped, but on January 11 the company confirmed 26,830 fish were in Chilean waters. Up until Thursday this week, Sernapesca refused to publish the exact number, because they wanted “to lower the profile to the situation” and “avoid a new conflict with the industry.”
However, Friday the number was finally confirmed by Sernapesca. A total of 28,660 fish escaped, according to RBB.
The director of Sernapesca Los Lagos, Eduardo Aguilera, justified the delay by pointing out that they had to process the information and hope that the Ventisqueros company would harvest the fish from all of the cages.
The recapture by Ventisqueros was 3,424 fish, corresponding to 11.95 percent, a number that is within the requirements of the law.
