Chile's national fisheries and aquaculture service Sernapesca said it has presented charges against Chilean salmon farmer Productos del Mar Ventisqueros for not notifying of two salmon escapes which occurred at the end of December. The company acknowledges its facilities were damaged but says no salmon escaped.
In a statement, Sernapesca confirmed it has presented charges against Ventisqueros to the environmental superintendent and alleged the company did not notify that an escape had occurred at its Tubildad center, in Quemichi, Chiloè, located in Southern Chile.
The agency said that inspectors had verified the escape in an inspection that occurred on 27 December, and following that inspected another center, Bahia Chincui in Puerto Montt. Authorities claim that this location had salmon near its center outside of its facilities, and that the company had not made any formal notification of the situation.
“The title holders of farming centers have the responsibility to immediately activate contingency plans after a fish escape, notify authorities and verify any situation at its cages that could be preventively controlled and avoid these situations,” Sernapesca National Director Alicia Gallardo said.
Sernapesca also released a photo of salmon jumping outside Ventisqueros’ cages at the Tubildad center.
For its part the company confirmed that strong tidal movements did cause structural damage at its Tubildad center, where some 190,000 salmon were housed. However the company said that after reviewing the facilities with underwater robots, it concluded that the cage and netting system was not compromised and that no specimens escaped from the facilities, according to a report in La Tercera.
Photo courtesy of Sernapesca
