A cook against "the salmon industry": Mallmann and his particular form of protest

The destruction of marine life, the few jobs and the negative impact on tourism are some of the effects of intensive salmon farming that residents, environmentalists, scientists, economists and even Chief Francis Mallmann denounced in front of the Beagle Channel, while they demanded a provincial law prohibiting this type of production in Tierra del Fuego.

By mid-morning, residents of the area began to approach Mallmann's lunch to accompany the community's struggle since March 2018 against the proposed salmon cage project in the area. waters of the Innovation Norway cbad, which is currently slowing down.

Wrapped in smoke prepared on the snow, where the crab was cooked – crustaceans typical of these latitudes – Mallman said that "beyond the Beagle, it's all about quitting the world's hatcheries." whole "and added" a long time ago I argue that in 30 years we will hardly eat meat or fish because of the way we fish and produce "today.

It's Gustavo Lovrich, biologist and researcher at Conicet, who described this damage caused, in this case by salmon farms: humans, so that they can generate resistance in our organisms, "he said. declared.

And he continued: "The impact on the environment is really high. In principle, there is a loss of biodiversity, however, the volume of urine when there are intensive hatcheries is very important and contains nutrients that promote the growth of toxic algae, which generates the Use of herbicides to control algae. "

"In addition," said the scientist, "these salmon have diseases that are transmitted to wildlife and it is very common for salmon to escape from cages by outpacing native species and fighting for food. For example, they eat sardines and anchovies like our penguins. "

From an economic point of view, Juan Ignacio García, coordinator of the bachelor's degree in economics from the National University of Tierra del Fuego, explained that "if the Norwegian company is installed here, what would be done, c & o Is "fattening", which requires intensive use of natural resources, but this task generates few jobs. "

García said that "we should add to this that the destruction of the environment would reduce tourism, an activity that 50% of Ushuaia families live directly or indirectly".

Ramón Navarro, a Chilean activist, where the salmon industry represents a significant economic activity, said that "we were not asked if we wanted this industry, you have the opportunity to stop your installation if you adhere to it ".

The latest environmental crisis brought about by this industry has been a boom in microalgae due to the increase in ammonia released by fish excrement, which has caused the death of 37,000 tonnes of salmon that were thrown at the sea about 70 kilometers from the island of Chiloe (south of Puerto Montt), after which 343 dead whales and other animals such as crustaceans, molluscs, birds and sea lions appeared.

Marina Sbado, from the organization Sin Azul no Hay Verde, also attended the conference. She recalled that "although since May a project to ban intensive salmon farming in the Fuegian legislature, the law is still not approved".

Augusto De Camillis, a local diver, was also present. He projected current images of the cbad and described the waters of the sea after the hatcheries; Víctor Varas, representative of the Yagán community, highlighted the importance of sea lions in their native culture, a species threatened by salmon farming; and Agustín Fox, director of Patagonia Argentina.