Chile moves closer to speeding up salmon farm relocations

The world’s second largest salmon producer, Chile, has taken a significant step towards slashing the red tape that has prevented fish farms being relocated to more suitable locations, writes Fish Farming Expert’s Chilean sister site, Salmonexpert.cl.

The Chamber of Deputies - Chile's equivalent to the UK’s House of Commons - voted by 90 votes to 59 to pass the National Reconstruction and Economic and Social Development Bill which will, among other things, enable “micro-relocations” of salmon farms without the need for new environmental impact assessments (EIAs).

The Bill, which must also be approved by Chile’s Senate, eliminates a legal requirement for all relocations to be submitted to the Environmental Impact Assessment System.

1,058 applications blocked

It also explicity exempts micro-relocations - moving a farm to a nearby area that has better environmental performance – from the EIA procedure, given that the current system has rendered them practically unfeasible. Of the 1,060 applications submitted to the National Fisheries Service (Sernapesca) since the EIA legislation in 2010, only two have been successful, despite their very low environmental impact.

According to the government, the objective of its National Reconstruction Plan is to overcome a period where average economic growth has been only 2% annually.

Finance minister Jorge Quiroz said the project “gives the country back the appropriate environment to increase investment, boost growth, and above all, increase employment and provide job opportunities for all Chileans”.

'A very important measure'

Patricio Melero, president of salmon farmers’ organisation SalmonChile, said: “We value the approval of the Reconstruction Plan. It is, without a doubt, a positive step and one that goes in the right direction to boost the country's growth, recover jobs, and generate the certainty required for long-term investment.

“Modernising regulations [in the salmon sector] is fundamental to operating more efficiently and with higher sustainability standards. In that sense, addressing the simplification of relocations is a very important and necessary measure, but it will require clarifications and adjustments in the Senate to ensure its full and correct implementation.

“We hope that the Senate will maintain its sense of urgency during the legislative process. As a sector that directly impacts hundreds of SMEs and sustains employment in southern Chile, we reiterate our willingness to engage in technical dialogue to achieve a law that truly contributes to Chile's productive development.”