For Immediate Release
May 28, 2009

CONTACT:
Annelore Hoffens, 56-2-7957140 / 56-9-79598865

Marine Harvest Is Warned That New Acuaculture Law Will Not Resolve Environmental Crisis of Salmon Farming Companies

During an annual shareholders’ meeting held today in Oslo, Norway

Santiago, May 28, 2009.- Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, took part yesterday in the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of Marine Harvest –the world’s largest salmon producer– held today in Oslo, Norway. Oceana’s presentation focuses on the scope of the environmental issues generated by the salmon industry in Chile. The presentation is part of a round of meetings launched last week in Norway by Oceana and other organizations that are part of the Pure Salmon Campaign.
Alex Muñoz, Oceana’s Executive Director for South America, warned Marine Harvest’s CEO and other members of the board that the reforms currently discussed by the Chilean Congress are not stringent enough to develop this industry in a sustainable way or to help it recover from the current crisis.   

“The crisis that currently impacts Marine Harvest and the rest of the salmon industry in Chile is the result of poor environmental management which was, in turn, enabled by a lenient legislative and institutional framework. Recently proposed legal reforms are not demanding enough to overcome these problems as they fail to consider substantial measures to care for the ecosystems on which salmon farming depends. Companies will need to do much more than the legal requirements if they want to fix, at least in part, the impacts they have caused,” Added Alex Muñoz.

Oceana also encouraged Marine Harvest to apply in Chile the same measures it adopts in Norway in order to prevent salmon escapes, one of the most severe environmental issues that result from this activity. “Marine Harvest has said that one of its goals is to have zero salmon escapes from its cages. For such purpose, the company should apply in our country the best technology at hand, as long as the Chilean government discusses regulations with more demanding preventive measures, such as those lawfully in force in Norway. Such a regulation should focus on preventing escapes, recovering from impacts and penalizing intentional or negligent events”, said Oceana’s director.

Salmon are introduced species in Chile and by escaping to the marine ecosystem they result in diverse environmental impacts. Several scientific studies have documented cases of depredatory behavior on native species or other organisms on which they feed; cross-breeding with native fish; and transmission of diseases to wild species. Many of the native species affected by escaped salmon are fishing resources for artisanal fishermen, which leads to economic losses in this industry as well.

Oceana’s meeting with Marine Harvest executives is part of a series of reunions –including Oceana and other organizations members of the Pure Salmon Campaign– held in Norway since May 18, to inform on environmental threats involved in salmon farming, as well as on the poor labor conditions affecting its workers.

Some of the meetings include parliamentarians of different political backgrounds, ministers, scientists, financial analysts, salmon farm workers’ representatives, ambassadors, and salmon company shareholders and executives, among others.

In addition to Oceana, represented by Alex Muñoz, other Chilean stakeholders that take part in this trip are Alejandro Salinas, Director of Chiloe’s Environmental and Labor Observatory and Javier Ugarte, President of the National Confederation of Salmon Farm Workers.

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Note to the Editor: The Pure Salmon Campaign is a venue that groups several organizations interested in promoting greater environmental and social protection facing salmon farming impacts in countries like Chile, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Norway and the United States.