August 25, 2020

Mowi Chile slapped with US$6.7 million fine for 2018 escaped salmon incident

Mowi Chile was slapped with a CLP5.3 billion (US$6.7 million) fine for the escape of more than 690,000 Atlantic salmon from one its farms in 2018.

The incident at Mowi's Punta Redonda center had caused irreparable damage to the environment, said Chile's Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) which imposed the penalty. According to SMA, " the Punta Redonda Farming Center did not maintain the appropriate security conditions and cultivation elements of optimal quality and resistance" as outlined in Chile's environmental resolutions.

In its sanctioning procedure, SMA cited outdated water current measurements at the Los Lagos region, Calbuco district center built in 2017, failure to implement recommended moorings and evidence of wear and tear of the nets and mooring lines to which the company did not respond, as cause for the fine.

The impact of the escape led to a two-pronged environmental risk, SMA said. This entails alterations in the biogeochemical cycles of the marine habitat from decomposing mortality and the transmission of pathogens and diseases resulting from contact and the interaction between escaped salmon and wild fauna.

Mowi Chile said that it would appeal the fine, arguing that the legal presumption of the SMA resolution "has no scientific basis."

The company also highlighted studies following the incident that prove Atlantic salmon cannot colonise or survive outside the center. In addition, most of the escaped salmon were caught by third parties and sold in informal trade.

- SeafoodSource