The Chilean business unit of Marine Harvest has reported that 27.3 percent of the more than 690,000 coho salmon that escaped from one of its farms in Southern Chile have been recaptured.
However, authorities question those numbers and said the firm was responsible for catching only 5.5 percent, below the mandatory minimum necessary to avoid legal penalties. If Marine Harvest fails to reach the 10 percent mark, it could face a fine of up to USD 227,000 (EUR 195,000) and potential loss of its concession at the Punta Redonda center near Huar Island, where the escape occurred.
The escape is the largest Marine Harvest Chile has dealt with in the country, but according to its report filed with the Chilean fisheries and aquaculture authority Sernapesca, a total of 187,949 salmon were recovered, according to Radio BioBio. That figure includes both the salmon which the company captured directly, as well as fish re-obtained by small-scale, artisan fishermen who were employed in the recapture efforts, according to Marine Harvest Chile communications head Adrian Maldonado.
Sernapesca countered Marine Harvest’s claim by alleging the company has thus far only recaptured 5.5 percent of the escapees, and rebuked the idea that the company had met the 10 percent minimum recapture quota after an escape. Furthermore, the agency took issue with the company’s use of independent fisherman to help with the recapture efforts, insisting that because the fishermen did not hold permits or quotas for salmon, they were breaking the law by catching and selling the escaped salmon back to Marine Harvest.
Marine Harvest’s Maldonado argued that the company did not pay directly for the salmon, but rather offered bonuses to individuals whose performance had stood out during the recapture process.
Harry Jürgensen, head of the regional authority for the Los Lagos Region, said that there is a debate going on as to which recapture numbers should be considered official. Rabindranath Quinteros, the president of the Chilean Senate’s commission on fisheries, has said publicly that Sernapesca’s tally should be the one that counts.
Even before any penalties, Marine Harvest Chile has already absorbed a financial hit from the escape. Experts estimated the value of the lost biomass of salmon at USD 7 to 14 million (EUR 6 to 12 million), and the company reported a USD 3.5 million (EUR 3 million) reduction in its operational earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the second half of 2018.
Photo courtesy of Marine Harvest
