In southern Chile, locals push to protect oceans that have been hurt by intensive salmon farming

Intensive salmon farming in Chile has been criticized by scientists, environmental advocacy groups, fishers, Indigenous communities and local residents. Yesica Fabiana Leviñanco, left, and her partner, Paulo Vera Perez, prepare for a fishing journey in Repollal, in the Guaitecas Archipelago, Chile, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Adriana Thomasa) MELINKA, Chile (AP) — Yesica Fabiana Leviñanco steers her small wooden boat while her partner, Paulo Vera Perez, dives into the cold ocean waters off the coast of southern Chile. Within a few hours, the couple, both in their mid-40s, has filled the boat with shellfish, sea urchins, mussels and crabs that Leviñanco will sell at the market in Melinka, the main island in the Guaitecas Archipelago. Even a few years ago, such a haul would have been unthinkable. “It seems incredible looking at it today, but for years the sea throughout this area was dead,” said Leviñanco. “There were no birds, fish or marine animals. A salmon-farming facility had destroyed everything.” EDITORS’ NOTE: This story was supported by Journalismfund Europe. Made up of more than 40 small islands, the Guaitecas Archipelago is a gateway to Chile’s Patagonia region that is one of the world’s most remote places. Despite being a national reserve, it’s also home to numerous salmon farms that discharge hundreds of tons of chemicals and antibiotics into the sea every year. At least 313 salmon farms were authorized in the archipelago, according to Terram, a Chilean foundation focused on sustainable development. Leviñanco and Vera Perez say the intensive farming damaged where they fished, so they decided to try to counter that. They started bringing in healthy mussels and clams from other areas. Friends and family thought they were crazy, but over years the work paid off. “The fish, birds and other marine animals came back,” said Leviñanco. Chile is the world’s second-largest salmon producer after Norway, and the fish is the Latin American country’s second-most exported product, after copper. In 2025, over 1 million tonnes were produced in the country, according to Sernapesca. Salmon is not native to Chilean waters. The fish was first imported from Norway in the 1970s and 1980s, during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. For years, intensive salmon farming in Chile has been criticized by scientists, environmental advocacy groups, fishers, Indigenous communities and local residents, who accuse the industry of polluting the sea because of the large quantities of chemicals used at the farms, failing to respect the rights of Indigenous communities and breaching workplace safety regulations. According to figures provided by the Chilean nonprofit Ecoceanos, 90 workers have died in the industry since 2013. Fatal accidents range from workers getting entangled while cleaning nets to shipwrecks among vessels in the area. The Guaitecas Archipelago is the largest nature reserve in the country and one of the oldest, having been established in 1938, and has many endangered marine species. Many locals and scientists say that salmon farms have severely damaged multiple marine areas, leaving parts of the seabed with oxygen levels so low that other forms of life struggle to survive. They describe these areas as “dead.” One such area is where Leviñanco has fished throughout her life and which she helped to restore. “Intensive salmon farming can have various impacts on marine ecosystems. Pollution can result both from the accumulation of organic matter and from the use of chemicals,” said Catalina Sapag, a marine biologist and scientific area coordinator at the nonprofit Oceana in Chile. Despite opposition, particularly in the south of the country, there is strong support for the salmon industry, as it generates many jobs. SalmonChile, a trade association representing many farming companies, argues that the decline in fish stocks can’t be attributed just to salmon farming. “It may be due to various factors, such as climate chang