November 26, 2024 (Ecoceanos, CCC) – Civil organizations, scientists, and local tourism operators have reported to the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service of Chile (Sernapesca) the unusual and sequential deaths of four whale individuals near intensive salmon farming sites operating within Chilean national parks and reserves in Patagonia. These incidents have occurred within a brief span of two months across the Aysen and Magallanes regions, accompanied by audiovisual evidence supporting each complaint submitted to Sernapesca.

The start of these lethal interactions, which affect species protected by national and international laws and agreements, occurred on September 12, when a sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) was found stranded with a line wrapped around its body, between its blowhole and pectoral fins. The ten-meter-long whale was discovered bleeding and apparently alive, as confirmed by a team of veterinarians from Sernapesca Aysén.

The discovery took place near the salmon farming center “Paso Galvarino,” located in Puyuhuapi Channel, Puerto Cisnes, Aysen Region. This facility is owned by Granja Marina Tornagaleones of Salmones Marine Farm. The sei whale ultimately succumbed after suffering for some time, sinking to approximately eight meters deep in Puyuhuapi Channel. Jorge Padilla, Acting Regional Director of Sernapesca Aysén, stated, “We hope that the investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office can clarify the facts.”

Impacts of Canadian and Chinese Salmon Multinationals on Patagonian Whales

Subsequently, on October 28, a dead humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), “presumably entangled,” was recorded at the industrial salmon farming center “Muñoz Gamero 1” located in the Glacier fjord, within the Kawésqar National Reserve in the Magallanes region. This facility is owned by Salmones Islas del Sur, a subsidiary of the Chinese company Australis Seafoods / Joyvio, also situated within the Kawésqar National Reserve. The transnational company, owned by Lenovo, claimed to Sernapesca that the whale had arrived deceased at the farming site (sic). The regulatory authority requested the Chinese company to investigate whether there river mouth of the Río Exploradores between 21 and 30 of October.

A third incident was reported two days later when another dead humpback whale was found just meters from the industrial farming center “Huillines 3,” belonging to the Canadian transnational Cooke Aquaculture, located in San Rafael National Park, Aysén Region. Despite being in a “sanitary rest” period due to previous environmental violations and undergoing a relocation agreement with the current government, the facility still possesses a fish mortality silage module abandoned in the sea, containing acids and chemicals that were previously used to treat dead fish.

Ironically, as pointed out by Peter Hartmann from Codeff-Aysén during his visit to the area, this toxic module has an environmental contingency plan and Environmental Qualification Resolution 640/2012 permitting its operation within the national park (sic). Moreover, the Maritime Territory Directorate of the Navy authorized the use of preservative and acidifying chemicals for deployment in freshwater. However, the salmon installation was operating in the sea, where such discharges are prohibited.

In an audiovisual recording from October 20 provided by a tourism operating company making the route between Bahía Exploradores and Laguna San Rafael, shows the whale was seen swimming near the mouth of the Río Exploradores, where Cooke Aquaculture has the Punta Caldera and Río Claro 05 centers.

The Superintendency of the Environment has requested the Canadian multinational to provide georeferenced positioning of the cetacean at the time of the last inspection, as well as the conditions in which the deceased individual was found—particularly whether it displayed evidence of entanglement with nets or interactions with lines or ropes.

A week later, the civil organization Whalesound reported a fourth record of a dead cetacean, this time another sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis), found within the Francisco Coloane Marine Park in the Magallanes region.

The Francisco Coloane Marine Park is the only location in the Southern Hemisphere where humpback whales feed outside Antarctic waters. Covering 67,000 hectares, it is Chile’s first marine park and the most crucial feeding ground for humpback, sei, and minke whales. The presence of these cetaceans led to the creation of the Francisco Coloane Coastal Marine Protected Area (AMCP) in 2003, aimed at safeguarding the coastal zone. In addition, a 1,500-hectare marine park was established within the AMCP to conserve key feeding areas for humpback whales and the breeding grounds for sea lions and Magellanic penguins.

Chile: A Country of Endangered Whales

Chile is home to a diverse range of whales. Of the 94 cetacean species globally, 43 inhabit waters of Chile’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with 26 species (approximately 28%) residing in Chilean Patagonia. However, the presence of whales in these southern regions—many of which are critically endangered—is increasingly threatened by the current expansion and destructive industrial occupation of coastal waters and archipelagos by the salmon export mega-industry.

This industry, predominantly transnational, allocates over 80% of its production to 75 international markets, including the United States, Japan, Brazil, and the European Union. Currently, with the support of the Chilean state, the industry aims to surpass its existing production of one million tons of salmon annually and achieve 1.2 million tons of these carnivorous fish species introduced into Patagonian waters by 2032.

This export success, second only to Norway, generates substantial profits for companies operating in Chile, with a valuation of $6.5 billion in 2023. However, this profit comes at a significant social and environmental cost, evident in the substandard environmental, labor, and human rights indicators associated with the export industry.

The ramifications of this industry are stark, as recorded by the deaths of 76 workers in cultivation centers and processing plants from 2013 to 2023. Moreover, there is a growing mortality rate of whales within protected areas of Chilean Patagonia, irregularly occupied by the operations of 416 industrial farming centers and the activities of 1,000 cargo transport vessels belonging to the salmon industry.

Unity and Struggle Against Socio-Environmental Destruction and a Moratorium on Salmon Expansion in Southern Chile

The four records of large cetacean mortalities within three months illustrate an extreme threat facing marine mammal populations in the Patagonian “salmon far west,” imperiled by events of chemical pollution (antibiotics and antiparasitics), organic pollution (salmon feces and uneaten feed), pollution of coastal areas from infrastructures and waste (buoys, nets, metal tension cables, ropes), underwater sonic pollution, lethal collisions with maritime transport and cargo vessels, as well as entanglements in nets from salmon centers and fishing operations, among other causes.

In response, the Ecoceanos Center and the Cetacean Conservation Center (CCC) of Chile are advocating for citizen demands for a moratorium on the territorial and productive expansion of the salmon mega-industry in Chilean Patagonia; the exit without relocation of the 416 farming centers operating within national parks and protected areas; the elimination of fish farms in highly vulnerable ecosystems (lakes, rivers, and fjords); the cancellation of salmon concessions that violate national aquaculture regulations; the cessation of state subsidies to the billion-dollar salmon industry operating in Chile; and investigations into the substandard labor conditions and human rights violations affecting workers, divers, and crew members in this export industry.

To strengthen these demands from citizens, scientists, and communities, we call upon national and international consumers to refrain from purchasing or consuming industrial chemical salmon from Patagonia due to its destructive environmental, health, social, and labor impacts affecting indigenous communities and workers, constituting an unfair competition in international markets.