Cooke sanctioned in Chile for environmental infractions; closure ordered at two sites.
Chile’s environmental regulator has sanctioned Cooke Aquaculture for multiple infractions at three salmon farms in the Aysén region, ordering the closure of two centres located within the Laguna San Rafael National Park.
The Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente (SMA) said it had confirmed eight breaches following a sanctioning procedure against the company. The infractions related to the Punta Garrao, Huillines 2 and Huillines 3 grow-out sites.
At Punta Garrao, the SMA found that Cooke exceeded its authorised production by 22.7% between September 2017 and February 2019, harvesting 3,068.9 tonnes against the permitted limit. The regulator also noted that structures were placed outside the licensed concession area and that the site lacked required contingency plans for hydrocarbon spills and interactions with the native huillín otter.
At Huillines 2 and Huillines 3, both located inside the Laguna San Rafael National Park, the company was found to have introduced substantial modifications to operations without the necessary environmental approval. These included increasing production by more than 35 tonnes using intensive methods without securing a Resolución de Calificación Ambiental (RCA).
Additional breaches at Huillines 2 included placing structures outside the concession and the presence of aquaculture waste on the shoreline.
The SMA ordered the total closure of Huillines 2 and Huillines 3 as a result of the unauthorised modifications, and imposed a fine of 1,660.6 UTA. In accordance with Chilean law, the closure sanction will be referred to the Environmental Tribunal for confirmation.
