| CHILE GOVT CONVENES EMERGENCY SALMON COMMITTEE |
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| Written by Patagonia Times Staff | |
| Thursday, 24 April 2008 | |
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The Ministry of Economy this week announced the formation of an emergency committee to confront the ongoing crisis in Chile’s farmed salmon industry. The group, which was formed at the request of President Michelle Bachelet, is being headed by Felipe Sandoval, the former head of the government’s Fishing Undersecretaries Office (SUBPESCA). Other members of the committee include current Fishing Undersecretary Jorge Chocair, Production Promotion Authority Vice President Carlos Alvarez, National Fishing Service (SERNPESCA) Director Félix Inostroza, Marina Undersecretary Carolina Echeverría, Luis Pichott of the Chile Foundation and scientist Bernabé Santelices.According to Economy Minister Hugo Lavados, the group will have 30 days to come up with a list of priority measures. Those measures are likely to include changes to aquaculture licensing procedures and sanitary rules. The government is expected to begin implementing the new measures within the next two months, said Lavados. Chile’s US$2.2 billion farmed salmon and trout industry has struggled of late, in large part because of an ongoing outbreak of Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA). First detected in Chile last July, ISA is a highly contagious virus that can be lethal to fish but does not affect humans. SERNAPESCA’s official list of infected fish farms now totals 21, approximately half of which belong to industry leader Marine Harvest, a Norwegian-owned company. The ISA problem has spelled significant financial losses for Marine Harvest and other companies, which together have laid off more than 1,000 workers in just the past few weeks. Last Thursday Mainstream fired approximately 260 workers in Quemchi, Chiloé (PT, April 18). The firings came on the heels of a decision by Marine Harvest to shut its Puerto Montt-based Chinquihue processing plant (PT, April 15). That closure, originally scheduled for late June, resulted in roughly 600 layoffs. Just days before, yet another salmon company, Japanese-owned Salmones Antártica, fired approximately 300 workers. “We’ve seen a production drop and job losses, which are extremely relevant for us,” said Minister Lavados. News of the government’s emergency commission has not been well received by Chile’s National Confederation of Artisan Fishermen (CONAPACH), the country’s principal local fishermen’s association. During his tenure as the fishing undersecretary, committee head Felipe Sandoval pushed hard for privatization of the fisheries, CONAPACH recalls. “This is a bad sign because… it opens the door for this man to once again intervene in state policies. Now he’ll do so with the salmon industry, but we fear that little by little he’ll turn his attention to artisan fishing and become a real force within SUBPESCA,” said CONAPACH. Salmon industry labor leaders, meanwhile, are questioning why the new government committee does not include representatives from either the Labor Ministry or the National Service for Women. The industry, they point out, employs more than 50,000 people, approximately 30 percent of whom are women. “Once again the government is making a mistake and proving that the so-called ‘citizens’ government’ that President Bachelet promised is only an illusion,” Ricardo Casas, president of the Federation of Fishing Industry Workers, told the NGO Ecoceanos. By Patagonia Times Staff ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 25 April 2008 ) |
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