Argentine government will not advance the installation of salmon farms in the Beagle Channel.
“There is no intention of the Government to promote this type of industry in the Canal,” said the president of the Provincial Office of Works and Sanitary Services (DPOSS) Guillermo Worman.
sur54 has reported that the official has spoken for the Argentine government by confirming there will be no salmon farms in the Tierra Del Fuego, the country’s most southern point.
Worman denied that there is an agreement with the government of Norway to install salmon farms in the Beagle Channel. He explained that “the Province agreed to collaborate with the national Government and with a public agency for Norwegian technological innovation to carry out a pre-feasibility study, which is underway and whose preliminary results will be delivered in the coming months and the final report later.” He explained that the province had an obligation as a province to “explore all the alternatives” to generate jobs, such as wind energy.
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However, there are eight sites that are being explored in the Beagle Channel but when asked about what will happen if the study does show that salmon farming is feasible, Worman said that “the government does not make political decisions based on what a technical study says, and the political decision is not to move forward.”
He said that “the agreement has to do with a study that is related to exploring the carrying capacity and possible sites for the development of aquaculture, there is no mention of any particular species.”
“There are three definitions: salmon farms are not on the agenda of the Government of Tierra del Fuego, the solution to create jobs is not at the expense of environmental degradation, and the Government is looking for other alternatives to solve the labour crisis and generate jobs that are compatible with the care of the environment,” he added.