Why Are Whales Dying in Patagonia? Concerns Over Salmon Cages, Vessels, and State Negligence

Original article: ¿Por qué denuncian que las ballenas están muriendo en la Patagonia?: Amenazas, jaulas salmoneras, embarcaciones y negligencia estatal

NGOs Demand Transparency Following Second Humpback Whale Death Caused by the Chilean Factory Ship Antarctic Endeavour

They emphasized the importance of civil society being able to oversee sanctioning processes to prevent further incidents in the fragile ecosystem of the Southern Ocean and national waters.

Source: Cetacean Conservation Center, Ecoceanos Center

As part of exercising the right to access public information established in the Chilean legislation, civil society organizations Cetacean Conservation Center and Ecoceanos Center have submitted a formal letter addressed to María Tapia Almonacid, the National Director of the National Fishing and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca).

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The goal is to request detailed information regarding the capture and death of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that occurred on March 25 due to the factory ship Antarctic Endeavour operated by Pesca Chile S.A., during krill fishing operations near the South Orkney Islands (Antarctic Peninsula).

Antarctic Endeavour, the repeat offender ship responsible for the deaths of two humpback whales within two years

The letter, delivered to the Sernapesca headquarters in Valparaíso, seeks comprehensive information regarding the criminal complaint filed with the Punta Arenas Guarantee Court (Magallanes region), along with the technical report that determined the presumed commission of an offense under the General Fishing and Aquaculture Law. The organizations also request access to the inspection records of the Antarctic Endeavour, relating not only to this specific case but also to another similar incident recorded in January 2024, when the same krill trawler caused the entanglement and death of a juvenile humpback whale. They also seek to know the status of any administrative sanction proceedings that Sernapesca may have initiated against the shipowner, among other requests.

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According to Elsa Cabrera, executive director of the Cetacean Conservation Center, «the repeated history of the Antarctic Endeavour, with two cases of humpback whale deaths in less than two years, raises the gravity of these incidents along with the urgency for a strong institutional response to both these fatal events and our request for information.» Cabrera noted that, in compliance with the Transparency Law, they expect to receive the requested information within a maximum of 20 business days.

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Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Cárdenas, executive director of Ecoceanos Center, stated that “as civil society organizations, we will remain vigilant regarding the evolution of the legal actions of Chile’s National Fishing and Aquaculture Service against the owner of the Antarctic Endeavour, as well as the complicit role of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in giving a false certification of ‘sustainability’ to the krill production of the controversial company Pesca Chile S.A., which is responsible for the deaths of protected whale species in the waters of Patagonia and the sub-Antarctic region.”

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Both environmentalists argued that this action represents public interest in the protection of cetaceans, which are protected in Chile by Law 20.293 – known as the Whale Sanctuary – as well as the need for civil society to exercise appropriate control and monitoring of the processes aimed at sanctioning such fatal incidents and preventing their recurrence, particularly in the fragile ecosystem of the Southern and Antarctic Oceans as well as in national waters.