Saving the Beagle Channel was possible because we all defended it together.
In the face of the health and environmental crisis we are experiencing, it is essential and urgent that governments rethink what type of economic development they promote and make decisions prioritizing local work and listening to society.
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the day our country became a leader by unanimously passing a pioneering environmental law that allows for the preservation and protection of the province's natural resources, genetic resources, and marine ecosystems. But we also want to raise our voices in support of the Chilean people's demand that President Gabriel Boric's government put an end to salmon farming in the protected areas of their territory.
In 2018 , the national government and the province of Tierra del Fuego signed an agreement with the Norwegian Crown to develop the salmon farming industry on the Argentine side in the waters of the Beagle Channel.
In 2019, Chile and Argentina joined forces with a common goal: to oppose salmon farming. The Argentinians aimed to prevent the industry from being established there, while the Chileans sought to halt its continued expansion into the southern region of their country.
In March 2019, the Ushuaia City Council approved a municipal ordinance prohibiting the installation of any infrastructure intended for salmon farming in the urban fabric of the city of Ushuaia.
In May 2019, legislators Mónica Urquiza (now vice-governor of TDF) and Pablo Villegas presented a provincial bill to prohibit salmon farming in Tierra del Fuego.
Tierra del Fuego would become the first province in the world to ban the industry before it is installed, contributing to the local, national and global transition towards a sustainable model.
On Saturday, August 17, 2019, we began the Artifishal Tour in Ushuaia, together with the community most threatened by the possible installation of the salmon industry in the Beagle Channel.
SeeIn 2021 , the bill was reintroduced into the provincial legislature of Tierra del Fuego.
The threat remains. Although the recent environmental disaster in the Comau Fjord once again highlighted the impacts of salmon farming, the industry seeks to continue expanding in the southern regions and the Magallanes region.
In May 2021 , we joined together again with our Chilean brothers and the Fuegian community to express our support for the passage of the bill that aims to prohibit salmon farming in the province of Tierra del Fuego and to raise our voices to the demands of the Chilean people who are calling for an end to the salmon farming industry in the channels, fjords and fragile ecosystems.
One year ago, on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, we celebrated: Tierra del Fuego is the first province in the world to ban the industry before it is installed.
Let's keep progressing towards a united Patagonia without salmon farms!
Salmon farms, Beagle Channel
The story of a group of people trying to prevent irreparable damage to the environment in one of the last virgin corners of the planet.
Watch video
Salmon Chronicles II
Martina Sasso
The triumph of a community over an industry and the intention to spread it to the whole world.
Salmon Chronicles
Martina Sasso
Some see our corner of the world as a unique place, teeming with life, where explorers like Darwin and Humboldt named mountains and bays. A place where nature still exists in its most pristine state. A place that deserves to be preserved wild as it is.
SALMON STATE
Patagonia
In a country known for the massive extraction of its resources, salmon farming is now Chile's second largest industry, second only to copper.
ARTIFISAL
Patagonia
The film explores the path to extinction of wild salmon.
The threat posed by hatcheries and fish farms, and our continued loss of faith in nature.
Protected forever
Together we knew how to defend our home by preventing the salmon farming industry from setting up in Argentina.
We are reinforcing our commitment to sustainable development:
NO to salmon farming in the Beagle Channel.
Let's help stop its spread in Chile's protected areas.
