In Southern Chile, Locals Push to Protect Oceans that Have Been Hurt by Intensive Salmon Farming
The community says salmon-farm pollution has cut marine life and is seeking legal protection to block new concessions.
- The Indigenous Mapuche Pu Wapi community in Melinka is awaiting a government decision on its application to protect 3,000 hectares of coastal waters under Ley Lafkenche, submitted last March.
- At least 313 salmon farms discharge chemicals and antibiotics within the Guaitecas Archipelago; ancestral authority Daniel Arturo Caniullan Huentel said industrial expansion has degraded the seabed.
- SalmonChile argues fish stock declines stem from climate change and overfishing rather than farming; the United States accounts for 40% of Chile's salmon exports worth $2.6 billion.
- Under Ley Lafkenche, approved applications block new industrial concessions like salmon farms; the state rejected prior applications for 350,000 hectares in 2024 and 8,000 hectares in 2017.
- Local fisher Yesica Fabiana Levianco's restoration efforts show degraded waters can recover; "the fish, birds and other marine animals came back," she said, though Oceana biologist Catalina Sapag warns pollution continues threatening biodiversity.
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In southern Chile, locals push to protect oceans that have been hurt by intensive salmon farming – WTOP News
MELINKA, Chile (AP) — Yesica Fabiana Leviñanco steers her small wooden boat while her partner, Paulo Vera Perez, dives into the cold ocean waters off the coast of southern Chile. Within a few hours the couple, both in their mid-40s, has filled the boat with shellfish, sea urchins, mussels and crabs that Leviñanco will sell...
In southern Chile, locals push to protect oceans that have been hurt b
MELINKA, Chile (AP) — Yesica Fabiana Leviñanco steers her small wooden boat while her partner, Paulo Vera Perez, dives into the cold ocean waters off the coast of southern Chile. Within a few hours the couple, both in their mid-40s, has filled the boat with shellfish, sea urchins, mussels and crabs that Leviñanco will sell at the market in Melinka, the main island in the Guaitecas Archipelago. Even a few years ago, such a haul would have been un…
Winnipeg Free Press
In southern Chile, locals push to protect oceans that have been hurt by intensive salmon farming
MELINKA, Chile (AP) — Yesica Fabiana Leviñanco steers her small wooden boat while her partner, Paulo Vera Perez, dives into the cold ocean waters off the coast of southern Chile.
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