MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tierra del Fuego promulgates bill banning industrial salmon farming

The impact of the Tierra del Fuego bill had a divided impact in the Argentine cabinet in Buenos Aires

Three weeks after its approval by the local Legislative council of Tierra del Fuego, extreme south of Argentina, the provincial Executive finally promulgated the bill that bans the growth and farming of salmon species in the provincial sea and lakes jurisdictional waters.

The bill was published in the Official Gazette but for it to become effective the ministry of Production and Environment, through its Fisheries and Aquaculture offices must regulate the bill for which it has thirty days.

The bill approved unanimously last 30 June looks to ensure the protection, preservation and shelter of natural resources, genetic resources and lakes and sea environments from the harmful effects generated by the farming of salmon species in captivity on a big scale.

However the bill also recognizes the existing aquaculture projects referred to the production of the rainbow trout at artisanal scale in the physical territory of Tierra del Fuego province, as well the authorization of new projects at artisanal level which have an approved “strategic and cumulative” environment impact, and which to not represent more than 50 tons annual production.

The bill, the first of such extent and impact in the world, also had strong support from Argentine and international environment NGOs, as well as the federal cabinet Deputy minister of Environment and Sustainable Growth Sergio Federovisky.

In a divided cabinet in Buenos Aires, Productive Development minister, Matias Kulfas said the sanctioning of the bill was the “wrong decision”. Instead of banning “we need to control closely and that is why point blank prohibition of salmon farming is a mistake”, insisted minister Kulfas in Buenos Aires.