Region XII still apprehensive about salmon invasion

Despite SalmonChile's PR meeting last Friday in Puerto Natales, with the local city council, SalmonChile seemed to have convinced the community regarding the economic benefits of the salmon industry's expansion in the Region (see 18.07.08 - SalmonChile convinces Pto. Natales City Council). But the realization that over 1,200 farming license applications are in the works has local citizens and regional planners very concerned. Eugenia Mancilla, governor of the Magallanes Region announced today that first of all, to keep the calm, that typically only one fourth of the pending license applications will be approved. Secondly, there must be a territorial and maritime reconsideration that recognizes the singularities of the Region, such as Canal de las Montañas in the Ultima Esperanza Province. Although the government has defined Areas Apt for Aquaculture (AAA), Mancilla insists that these AAA's must be revised, and urgently, since they do not take into consideration today's new concerns regarding biosecurity, nor the unique scenic attributes of certain areas. According to La Prensa Austral, the intent of the regional government is not to impede the relocation of the salmon industry to the Magallanes Region, but to establish regulations that will prevent the industry from invading or debilitating other productive activities such as tourism and artisan fishing.