Carlos Odebret, representative of SalmonChile from the Lakes Region (Region X) and other SalmonChile representatives from other regions came to visit Puerto Natales in Magallanes (Region XII) with one goal in mind. To convince the city that salmon farming is good for them. The representative organization of the salmon industry SalmonChile is quite accustomed to public slander and bad press on behalf of economic sectors (as well as NGOs) opposed to Chile’s salmon sector. And in Puerto Natales in particular, they knew they weren’t going to be received with open arms. But Carlos Odebret put it to the city council this way, “We want to work together. We have all the time in the world to dialogue and discuss the proper use of our coastal border. We have the time and the disposition to plan things in the right way. We want to converse, work, and plan in conjunction with all of the players that are equally concerned about the development of this sector, and I can guarantee to you, that the salmon industry is coming here to stay for a long, long time.” SalmonChile’s most pressing point directed at the city council was the increase of employment that the salmon industry claims to generate: each salmon farm involves direct employment for 10 to 12 people, and the salmon processing plants that will follow will generate employment for 800 to 1,200 people. As for the city council, one of their biggest concerns is the city dump and how the salmon industry will handle its organic and inorganic wastes. Odebret’s answer was to call for another meeting to discuss that concern exclusively.
