Planning for the Aysén invasion
While the salmon farming labour force is still reeling from last week’s news of the collapse of the industry’s largest and supposedly most consolidated company, Marine Harvest Chile, the reality they face is a move farther south to find work. According to Aqua.cl, a total of 171 aquaculture projects totalling US$ 354 million were presented to CONAMA, the national environmental commission of Chile’s Aysén (Eleventh) Region. The projects range from salmon production to micro-algae farms, with the vast majority pertaining to new salmon farms. While in Puerto Montt, the capital of the Lakes (Tenth) Region, which has been the capital of the salmon industry for over twenty years, only 84 projects totalling US$ 194 million have been proposed, and many of which are for increases of production capacity rather than new projects. The motive for the rush towards Aysén is because of the growing problems of fish health in the Lakes Region, particularly the threat of ISA.
