In 2021, this is the first major environmental disaster in the main intensive farming area of the salmonid export industry. The events are taking place in the Comau fjord, continental Chiloe, Los Lagos region; and the Jacaf and Puyuhuapi canals, Aysen region.
According to the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) report, massive fish mortalities are occurring in 9 salmon farming centers, the bloom of Heterosigma akashiwo being responsible, triggered by levels of organic contamination and climatic changes.
In the Comau fjord, only the company Salmones Camanchaca S.A. reported a mortality of 1.3 million salmon in their salmon cages in Leptepu, Porcelana and Loncochalgua. This is equivalent to a 2.2 million kilos of fish biomass, which vary between specimens weighing 450 grams and 2.5 kilos, depending on the affected center. This mortality would correspond to 11% of the total fish biomass present in Camanchaca.
In the contiguous region of Aysen, 12 salmon farming centers have activated their contingency plans due to massive mortalities, seven of them are located in the Puyuhuapi and Jacaf channels. The main cause of fish mortality in these groups is related with the harmful microalgae Leptocylindrus danicus and Leptocylindrus minimus.
To date, over 2 million kilos of fish killed by suffocation have been removed in both regions, which are used by well-boats to industrial plants for their transformation into fishmeal and fish oil for industrial animal feed for poultry, livestock. cattle, pigs, fish and pets.
Business Far west: Ten companies involved in the mortality of millions of salmon and the environmental destruction of fjords and canals
A total of 10 mega-multinational companies and Chilean family clans are involved in this health-environmental disaster. They are: Cooke Aquaculture (Canada); Mowi (Norway); Cermaq / Mitsubishi (Japan); Snowdrift (Schörghuber group / Germany); AquaChile (Vial family); Yadran (Briones family); Multiexport Foods (Japanese Mitsui and families of Jose Gutierrez, Martin Borda and Alberto del Pedregal); Camanchaca (Jorge Fernandez and José Cifuentes); Marine Farm (Eblen family); and Caleta Bay.
The Comau and Reñihue fjords are the only places on the planet where the endemic Desmophyllum dianthus corals are found in abundance and at the surface level, because they usually inhabit deep waters.
In this unique area of fjords worldwide, there is a high concentration of 17 industrial salmon farming centers, which operate at full capacity, with a biomass of 24,000 tons (24 million kilos) of salmon in the water.
Reflecting the commitment to the economic interests of salmon exporting companies, the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service, in a controversial decision, allowed a declared stocking of 14 million salmon for the period 2020-2022.
The executive of a part of the salmon companies, affirmed that "the situation is constantly being monitored and all the measures established to avoid fish mortality are being taken in permanent coordination with Sernapesca and other pertinent authorities."
Dr. Antezana exposed that “the ability to predict intense events in Chile is close to zero. Despite the occasional 5-day cruises, scientific research projects or programs, monitoring, and occasional visits by scientists from foreign institutions, or far from the Inland Sea."
The president of ADAC suggests caution in explaining the causes of these events that occur in highly complex ecosystems (e.g. multifactorial and multiscale processes). "More than spontaneous responses, I suggest questions and bold proposals of working hypotheses, experimental design, logistics implementation, experts, instruments, and financing for emergencies and the long term."
The Salmon Council "tries to relativize this disastrous situation in the fragile ecosystems of the southern fjords, blaming the current blooms of toxic and harmful micro-algae" on climate change, drought, La Niña and El Niño, "with which the companies are trying to hide the presence of organic pollutants such as phosphorus, nitrogen, ammonium and urea, coming from the thousands of tons of salmon feces, and from uneaten feed, which are emitted from the hundreds of rafts-cages into the water column and bottoms marine systems of closed systems and with slow recirculation of water from the fjords."
For Ecoceanos, "this generates environmental conditions that are triggered by climatic factors, enabling periodic micro-algae blooms."
The citizen organization asked the academic world to “evaluate the impacts of these blooms on ecosystems and regional marine biodiversity, especially corals, wild fish, mollusks and crustaceans, on which coastal communities depend, and also invited national consumers, international organizations, and the social and citizen movement to pressure the government and industry, to stop the destructive geographic and productive expansion of the mega salmon industry, using the boycott tool on the purchase and consume of industrial chemical salmon from southern Chile."