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Chile's Flourishing Fish Farms Prompt Fears for Ecosystem
Workers at a salmon farm in Calbuco, Chile, harvest what has become the region's economic backbone, reducing unemployment and raising incomes.
(Courtesy Of Paulo Vargas Almonacid)
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"The problem looks severe, and it is definitely serious, but the good news is that there is a remedy that is proven to be economically effective," said David Tecklin, head of the World Wildlife Fund's program in Chile.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Marine Harvest, the largest seafood company operating in Chile, announced this year that in the coming years it would transfer all of its lake-based smolt operations to land-based systems.
"Unfortunately none of the other companies have chosen to follow suit," Tecklin said.
In addition to pressure from environmental advocates, salmon farms in Chile have faced criticism from the tourism sector, which banks on the same image of an unspoiled Patagonia that salmon producers advertise.
The tourism industry has enjoyed 55 percent growth in the past decade, and the lakes region alone raked in about $116 million in tourism revenue last year. But that's nothing compared with salmon: Annual revenue has jumped from about $538 million to $2.2 billion since 1996. Some tour operators have argued that their industry is losing out to more profitable seafood interests.
"The big impact that we feel is a visual one," said Enrique Pavez, who operates a lake tour company in Puerto Montt. "When a person comes here to enjoy nature and its beauty and sees a salmon pen -- that's kind of a shock."
Last week at a university in Puerto Montt, academics and officials from the salmon and tourism industries took turns at a public forum focusing on how both sides might exist compatibly. Such forums have become commonplace as the salmon sector's impacts are increasingly debated.
"Fifteen years ago, absolutely no one here talked about contamination -- no one," said Rodrigo Palma, a scientist with Chile's federal agriculture service who studies freshwater systems. "That's a big difference. Today, everyone does."
