June 2, 2006

Chile sanctions salmon farms for overproduction

More than a dozen salmon farms in Chile may be sanctioned by the country's environmental body (Corema) for gross overproduction based on laws enacted 20 years ago.

Corema's acting director, Mario Sanhueza, said that the salmon farms would be sanctioned for grossly surpassing their authorised production levels, some of which reached up to eleven times the levels allowed under the environmental law.

Sanhueza said the companies had been notified on May 30, after which the affected companies could appeal in writing. The Monitoring Operative Committee (COF) would then evaluate the companies' arguments and finally propose a monetary fine.

Alvaro Varela, lawyer for the salmon industry, said current aquaculture concessions were made over 20 years ago and back then, farms were only required to state their minimum production levels.

As production increased, the industry had requested an updating and this was done more than six months ago. Varela said there had been an agreement between the government to update figures to more realistic figures.

The new figures were presented to Corema in January, which rejected it and set new rules and regulations for the updating of these figures.

The industry were negotiating new production figures when they found themselves sanctioned, Varela said.