Greenpeace warns about salmon projects in Ñuble. (Photo: Greenpeace)

Ñuble should oppose salmon farms, warns Greenpeace

Environmental organization Greenpeace deems the definition stage regarding salmon projects that seek to settle in the new Region of Ñuble as "a key moment" so as not to repeat there "the serious environmental consequences that the salmon industry has had in large areas of the south from the country".

"If it wants to save its ecosystems, its traditional fishing and its tourism, then Ñuble must oppose salmon farms, it is a matter of seeing the effects that this industry has had in large areas of southern Chile to understand that it is a huge threat", warned Estefanía González, coordinator of Greenpeace's oceans campaign.

"A final salmon escape in Los Lagos meant that the equivalent of 140 million mice are free acting as voracious predators underwater. A possible disaster of this magnitude can not be allowed in Ñuble," she said.

For the environmental organization, thinking about repeating the salmon damage in new regions of the country is an enormous irresponsibility, especially in an area like Cobquecura, where the local community has taken a position mostly against this industry because of its negative impact on traditional fishing and tourism.

"What is sought to take place in Cobquecura is a complete experiment in Chile and the world. The salmon cages in the open sea mean an enormous risk of environmental disasters that the salmon industry in Chile has not been able to avoid even in much more protected areas, such as the channels of the southern zone," González explained.

"The idea of ​​salmon farming is simple: since they have already destroyed the southern seas, now they are looking to move north," she added. "We hope that the authorities of the new region, when they have to make a decision, consider that they can not convert the coasts of Ñuble into a new zone of sacrifice."

The Region of Ñuble, which began to take effect on September 6, is located near the southern limit of the central zone, specifically between 36º 00' and 37º 12' south latitude. It borders the Maule Region to the north, the Biobío Region to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Argentine Republic to the east. It has an approximate surface area of ​​13,178 km2.

Related article:

- Greenpeace compares massive salmon escape with 140 million mice plague

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