Salmon at a farming centre cage. (Photo: Marine Harvest)

Deputies to vote on bill allowing artisanal fishermen to catch escaped salmon

CHILE
Thursday, October 18, 2018, 23:20 (GMT + 9)

The Committee on Fisheries of the Chamber approved and sent to the Chamber the motion modifying Act 18,892, General Fisheries and Aquaculture, on the prohibition of catching salmonid species from aquaculture harvests.

The bill was qualified as of great importance for the fishermen of the regions of Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes, where the salmon industry is located, since, due to the escape and other situations, there are many of these species in the inland seas that today can not be captured by fishermen, given the existence of sanctions and infractions that are implemented when discarding them, throwing them or returning them to the water.

Fisheries Committee President Gabriel Ascencio (DC) indicated that the idea of ​​the proposal is that the artisanal sector can at any time capture salmon that roam freely in the sea and whose property may be subject to discrepancy.

"What we have established as a general rule today is that artisanal fishermen registered in the fishery register can catch the salmon, and we have established that if a salmon escape occurs then that general rule is suspended and a period of 60 days is allowed for the company to recapture them without infringing it, otherwise they are sanctioned. The industry can make an association with artisanal organizations to help them recapture the escaped salmon once that period has expired, once again the general rule will be restored," he said.

Deputy Javier Hernandez (UDI) welcomed the bill but said he opposed the first article because he estimated that nobody can ensure the safety of salmon feed.

"What can not be guaranteed through any part of the act is that this is innocuous and when it is not safe people’s health is at risk, which is the only issue I oppose. The rest is debatable, such as if we are for or against artisanal fishermen. I believe that nobody is against artisanal fishermen but if we have a higher obligation that is food security and food security has to do with food safety and that means that it should not have traces of antibiotics," he said.

The parliamentarian added that, since the industry uses a lot of antibiotics, it is evident that any escaped salmon could mean that one has no history regarding its traceability, that is to say, from its birth until the moment of its escape, and it could represent a risk for people's health.

It should be added that the rule, which will be analyzed soon in the Chamber, imposes sanctions to prevent the theft or intentional breakage of processing cages in salmon farms in order to also protect the development of the industry.

It is worth remembering that the escape of almost 700,000 salmon from a Marine Harvest breeding center in Calbuco, last July, ignited alarms on the subject and the relevance of addressing the matter.

Related articles:

- Capture ban modification of salmon escaped from aquaculture centres approved
- SERNAPESCA confirms Marine Harvest recaptured fewer salmon than required by law
- Environmental organization accuses Marine Harvest of 'frameup and corporate fraud'
- Marine Harvest and Sernapesca disagree on recaptured escaped salmon number

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