Salmon fever spreads north
And the locals are not pleased. The Fischmann family who is a well-known real estate developer in Region V is also owner of the company Sociedad Acuícola Openseas. Neighbouring business owners and not to mention over 300 local fishermen, are taken aback by the family’s new business plans. According to a quote from La Nación, “The Fischmann’s have one of the largest beach front developments in the V Region. But their salmon farms aren’t in the V Region blocking their view. Instead our real-estate value may be affected,” comments a concerned developer in Tongoy, the coastal town in Region IV where Openseas plans to install the farms. The new salmon farming project however intends to use off shore installations that will be far from view from Tongoy’s coast, but nearby real estate developers are still not convinced. "Here we have wetlands, natural beaches, tourism areas, and a developed scallop farming operation. But please, don’t continue growing [in aquaculture] because we’ll be left with no room for real estate development. By favouring one sector we jeopardize another,” states Rodrigo Puelma, owner of the beachfront development Puerto Velero. Delia Pizarro on the other hand has been farming scallops for twenty years in Tongoy, and is also syndicate leader for the local fishermen and shellfish divers within the community. She is sceptical about the environmental impact report and comments, “The report doesn’t specify all of the requisites for the farm installations, such as including an extensive study of the currents. This is fundamental in order to know in which direction the organic load from the farms will go, and if the pollution from the salmon will affect us.” The concept of offshore farming is new and misunderstood by most, especially the difference in environmental impacts between traditional and off shore farming methods.
