Southward expansion of the Chilean salmon industry in the Patagonian Fjords: main environmental challenges

Abstract

Chile is the second largest producer of farmed salmon in the world. After reaching a peak harvest of 631 000 tonnes in 2008, a severe sanitary and production crisis triggered a major legal and operational reorganization, and an imminent expansion of the industry into the Aysén Fjords System (AFS). This expansion has caused increasing national and international concern about its potential negative impact upon this pristine area, which holds a mosaic of unique ecosystems and three World Biosphere Reserves. This paper reviews and provides some upper bounds to potential impacts under two feasible production scenarios. It is concluded that severe but highly localized mid‐term damage to the sea‐floor bottom may affect up to 6200 ha. Although this surface area represents only 0.5% of the AFS, the high heterogeneity and limited scientific knowledge of local ecosystems increase the risks of damaging sensitive habitats, communities or populations. While additional inputs of up to 60 000 t of nitrogen and 8000 t of phosphorus can be predicted, the estimation of carrying capacities is a pendant and urgent task to be accomplished in this area. If current escape rates are not reduced, the average number of escaped salmon may exceed 4.4 million individuals each year, able to consume up to 6600 t of pelagic prey from local ecosystems. We recommend following a strict precautionary approach, not granting new farming leases until sufficient information about the risk and magnitude of these impacts is obtained and transformed into effective management actions.

Escaped farmed salmon and trout in Chile: incidence, impacts, and the need for an ecosystem view

“…4), accounting for almost 6.5 million salmonid escapees, although it is estimated that more than 1 million salmonids may ) were reported to have escaped from salmon farms located in both the Lakes and Aysen regions. These amounts of escaped salmonids appear to be similar to those reported in other countries such as Norway and Scotland (440 000 and 216 000 yr −1 , respectively; Thorstad et al 2008, Jensen et al 2010 and within an estimated range of escapes in Chile (1 to 2% of the total production; Niklitschek et al 2006). However, when considering total salmonid production, the proportion of escaped fish in Chile was double that of Norway and similar to that of Scotland.…”

“…Among freshwater introductions, salmonids are considered to be among the most pervasive exotic species in the world (Pascual et al 2009). In Chile, the environmental concerns from salmonid escapes have focused on shortterm predatory effects upon native fish, long-term effects linked to the probability of farmed salmon establishing self-sustainable populations, and disease and pathogen transfer (Young et al 2010, Arismendi et al 2012, Niklitschek et al 2013). …”

“…Also, a virus that regularly affects salmon farms in different countries including Chile is the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, which has been detected in all salmon species at all developmental stages (freshwater and ocean phase of aquaculture) as well as in native fishes, mollusks, and crustaceans (Rodríguez Saint Jean et al 2003, Asche et al 2010. The infectious salmon anemia virus has also been documented in salmon farms in Norway, Canada, Scotland, the USA, and recently in Chile, causing enormous damage to the industry and the local and national economy (Niklitschek et al 2013). In Chile, the potential transmission of diseases from farmed salmonids to other taxa such as marine birds and mammals is yet unknown.…”

“…comm.). It has been shown that as the magnitude and number of sites where salmonid farming occurs increases, the potential consequences due to net-pen or farm failure increase, resulting in a higher probability of exotic escapees in the environment , Jensen et al 2010, Niklitschek et al 2013.…”

Intersubjetividad y domesticación en el devenir de una región global: la territorialización del salmón en la Patagonia chilena

“…En esta línea, la naturaleza de la configuración industrial, el desarrollo tecnológico, de mercados y de "competencias laborales" se han considerado como elementos clave para el éxito de la industria (Montero 2004). Sin embargo, persisten también las críticas a su deficiente desempeño ambiental y laboral (Barton 1997;Lindbergh 1999;Claude y Oporto 2000;Buschmann 2005; Gajardo y Laikre 2003; Niklitschek et al 2013), lo que llevó a una crisis sanitaria y económica de gran escala en 2007 provocada por la irrupción del virus de la anemia infecciosa del salmón (Bustos-Gallardo 2013). Aunque estos aspectos son relevantes y se podrían analizar desde la distribución de interobjetividad al interior de una red (peces, jaulas, barcos, cámaras submarinas, líneas de producción, empaques y virus, entre otros), se argumenta que la imagen del país como un actor importante a nivel global, producto de un desarrollo económico impulsado por tecnología y capital, genera una separación del salmón, la población humana y el medio ambiente, respecto de contingencias y eventos particulares que han generado una región productora de salmón y que continuarán transformándola en el futuro (Amtmann y Blanco 2001;Barret et al 2002;Blanco 2009).…”