Greenpeace Warns of Potential Loophole in Salmon Industry Regulations During Senate Environmental Commission Hearing

Original article: «Microrelocalizaciones salmoneras podrían abrir un atajo para evitar evaluación ambiental», advirtió Greenpeace en comisión del Senado por «ley de reconstrucción»

After participating in the Senate Environmental Commission on the «reconstruction law» project led by the government of José A. Kast, the international organization Greenpeace raised concerns about the concept of «micro-relocations» for salmon farming included in the initiative, arguing that it could create a «loophole to bypass environmental assessments.»

Silvana Espinosa, Climate and Biodiversity expert at Greenpeace, explained, «We attended the Senate Environmental Commission to alert legislators about the serious setbacks to environmental protection that this legislation entails, particularly regarding a historic Greenpeace campaign focused on safeguarding the fjords and channels of Chilean Patagonia.»

«In this context,» Espinosa added, «we were eager to hear the technical definition the authorities would provide for ‘micro-relocations,’ a technical figure that has emerged during discussions of the articles of this law aimed at boosting the salmon industry.»

«However, according to the industry itself, it essentially refers to the same concept as relocations, but without evaluating their potential environmental impacts,» the expert indicated.

The Greenpeace representative in Chile asserted that this measure «continues to generate a lot of uncertainty, and unfortunately, during this session, neither the authorities nor the industry—curiously, who took it upon themselves to explain this figure—were able to clarify the differences between a micro-relocation and a relocation.»

«We are concerned that it could end up being an environmentally regressive measure, as it allows for a process defined by current regulations to sidestep the requirements previously established in law,» emphasized Silvana Espinosa.

Additionally, Roxana Núñez, a lawyer, advocacy expert, and spokesperson for Greenpeace, addressed the organization’s participation in the Senate through a video.

We will continue to provide updates.