However, there is vocal local opposition to the sector
The legislature of the region voted by just a single vote to modify Law 1,355, the pioneering 2021 legislation that prohibited salmon farming in the sea, rivers, lakes and lagoons of the province.
The outcome was received with dismay and frustration by local chefs, artisanal fisherpeople, environmental groups and residents who had mobilised in recent weeks to defend the ban.
Catalina Cendoya, director of the Global Salmon Farming Resistance (GSFR), stated in a press release: “This decision puts at risk one of Argentina’s most pristine ecosystems. Everywhere the salmon industry operates, destruction follows: pollution, disease, loss of biodiversity, and the collapse of artisanal fisheries. The people of Tierra del Fuego did not ask for this reversal of protections, yet they will be the ones paying the price.”
Despite the amendment, the community of Tierra del Fuego has made clear that it does not intend to give up. Local residents, together with national and international organisations, are expected to continue advocating to prevent the installation of salmon farms in provincial waters.
As Cendoya reflects: “The global community will stand with them. The salmon farming sector is one of the fastest-growing aquaculture industries in the world, and challenging its expansion is never simple. But in every country where communities are working to remove these farms from their waters, we are supporting them. Tierra del Fuego will be no exception.”
