March 3, 2010

Chile earthquake damages salmon farms

Several land-based salmon operations in Chile suffered damages following the devastating earthquake that killed nearly 800 people.

Off-shore operations did not suffer damages, and freshwater facilities suffered only minor damages.

Cermaq ASA's EWOS unit, which has a feed factory located in Bio Bio Region's Coronel, was one of the hardest hit. The plant could restart production in a reasonable period of time. The company said harvesting will be postponed a few days to ensure that road transport is running properly, as the 8.8-magnitude quake, one of the strongest on record, severely damaged infrastructure, interrupting ground transportation in many areas of southern Chile

Austevoll Seafood ASA had shut down its land-based activities located in Coronel. Austevoll did not say when production at the plant would resume, but noted that activities in Chile are limited at this time of the year.