Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, has recently requested information from the Chilean Government over the health issue of the escaped salmon in the Los Lagos region. The organization has forwarded a letter to the National Fisheries Service (Servicio Nacional de Pesca, SERNAPESCA), Oceana is more concerned about a massive salmon escape that recently took place from the facilities of Mainstream, a local salmon aquaculture company. This escape took place in the Chidguapi, commune of the Calbuco, Los Lagos region.
The escape was blamed on the event on strong wind and waves. Up until now, SERNAPESCA estimated that 240,000 fish had escaped the company’s facilities; however, a final figure is still unavailable to the public. Oceana has formally requested SERNAPESCA’s regional and national officers to release all the information available regarding the official number of escaped salmon.
The organization has also requested information about the growth stage of the escaped fish, their health condition, and whether they are infected with the ISA virus or other health conditions. Alex Muñoz, Oceana’s Vice President for their South American office, told that salmon escapes are one of the most critical issues related to salmon farming. Since Salmon are introduced species, their escape into the wild results in severe impacts on local marine ecosystems and other fish species, says Alex.
Oceana expressed that regulations should be strengthened given high salmon escape figures prevailing in Chile. It is said that the present rules have proven to be ineffective for preventing future accidents and addressing areas that have already been impacted by this environmental problem.
