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According to WWF Chile, around 1.7 million salmon annually escape from farms. (Photo: WWF)
WWF study warns of salmon escapes
CHILE
Thursday, November 26, 2009, 15:30 (GMT + 9)
Up to 1.7 million salmon escape from farms every year in Chile, according to a report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) about salmon escapes in the country and the negative consequences that they can have socially and environmentally.
The report, titled Salmon escapes in Chile, events, impacts, mitigation and prevention, was created through an agreement signed between WWF-Chile and the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO).
In the document, the investigators Maritza Sepúlveda (University of Valparaíso), Francisca Farías and Eduardo Soto, emphasise that salmon escapes in Chile surpass those countries with similar production, such as Norway, by 15 times.
According to the coordinator of the Aquaculture Program of WWF Chile, Paula Moreno, the publication is the first in which Chile is the focus of salmon escapes from farms.
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WWF Chile presenting its report. (Photo: WWF Chile)
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According to Sepúlveda, the main causes of escapes in the regions of Los Lagos and Aysén are to do with climactic conditions and factors associated with the manipulation of the fish, such as harvest.
Factors such as lack of maintenance in structures, the changing of nets and the influence of predators also affect escapes.
The WWF study also shows that only 3 per cent of the escaped salmon are then recaptured.
For this reason, Sepúlveda stresses the need to focus efforts on the prevention of these cases, rather than mitigation or recapture.
Some of the main environmental impacts of salmon escapes include:
- Destruction of native fauna by salmon
- Competition with other species which require similar nutrients;
- Situations which alter the composition, diversity and function of marine ecosystems;
- The establishment of reproductive populations in Chilean rivers and lakes;
- An increased danger of the transmission of pathogens and illnesses produced by the interaction of salmon with wild fauna.
The social impacts include the risk caused to the health of people who eat escaped salmon, which can cause the generation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The Chilean branch of the NGO puts emphasis on the prevention of escapes with the need to modify the design of structures, nets and finances, taking into account the oceanographic conditions
in cultivation sites.
The WWF also recommends a greater control over and an improvement on the everyday practices in Chilean salmon centres, ans suggests that companies take a more active role in the prevention of escapes.
Finally, the study indicates the need for the state to be able to count on a robust and integrated information system, which can register large and small escapes, with control mechanisms and verification for the data entered.
Related articles:
- Salmon farms investigated for fish escapes
- Salmon escape from Mainstream farm in the thousands
By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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