SalmonChile Office is Firebombed

According to Benjamin Witte of PatagoniaTimes the fire destroyed much of the property and “years worth of research.” SalmonChile is the Chilean farmed salmon and trout industry’s primary trade association.

The arson attack comes at a particularly complicated moment for the country’s US$2.4 billion farmed salmon and trout industry, which after years of sustained growth is now in the midst of a major slide.

The industry’s problems – aggravated of late by the ongoing global financial crisis – began in mid 2007 with the discovery in Chilean waters of Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA), a highly contagious virus that can be lethal to fish but does not affect humans, writes Mr Witte.

ISA has since spread throughout southern Chile’s salmon farming regions, prompting a wave of layoffs that has left thousands without work – particularly in the Puerto Montt area and in the cities and towns of Chiloé.