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

In southern Chile, locals in the Guaitecas Archipelago say intensive salmon farming has devastated marine life and is now facing grassroots efforts to restore it. In Melinka, Yesica Fabiana Leviñanco and Paulo Vera Perez collect shellfish, sea urchins, mussels and crabs—an output they say would have been impossible a few years ago after a salmon-farming facility “destroyed everything.” The archipelago, a national reserve and gateway to Patagonia, includes hundreds of salmon farms; Sernapesca reports at least 313 authorized in the area, discharging chemicals and antibiotics. Locals have countered damage by bringing in mussels and clams from other regions, saying birds and marine life have returned.