Historic defeat of Canadian salmon farm Cooke in Chilean Justice: Threatens to go to international courts
“Cooke Aquaculture’s behavior in making serious accusations to disqualify government environmental control institutions and the Environmental Tribunal’s decision, threatening sanctions in international courts if the decision is not reversed, shows that its Canadian owners think that Chile is a banana country ”, pointed out the Ecoceanos Centre.
Valdivia, February 13, 2023 (Ecoceanos News)– The Third Environmental Court rejected the claim filed by the Canadian company Cooke Aquaculture against the Superintendence of the Environment (SMA) of Chile for having paralyzed the planting of the Salmon Farming Center (CES) “Huillines 3”, located in the Cupquelán Fjord, in the Aysén Region, Chilean Patagonia.
The measure issued by the environmental court (Cause Rol S-7-2022) in October 2022, was intended to prevent the stocking of 170,000 salmon in a protected area of high marine biodiversity. The precautionary action of the SMA was based on the fact that Cooke Aquaculture Chile would sow a quantity of salmon greater than the corresponding government authorization, whose tons exceeded those allowed by environmental regulations.
In addition, the SMA pointed out that this overproduction in the salmon farm of Cooke Aquaculture Chile would be implemented within the waters of the Laguna San Rafael National Park, generating a serious risk for the vulnerable ecosystems and marine coastal biodiversity of Patagonia.
Cooke Aquaculture rejects the decision of the Environmental Court, accusing denial of justice, arbitrariness and illegality
The Canadian mega company Cooke Aquaculture publicly expressed an energetic and intemperate rejection of the resolution of the Third Environmental Court of the city of Valdivia, southern Chile. In a statement they declare that “the resolution of the Third Environmental Tribunal reveals a denial of justice (sic). Our company filed a well-founded claim against the Superintendence of the Environment, due to a completely arbitrary and illegal determination (sic) that prohibited us from continuing to operate one of our centers, without any environmental or legal precedent to justify it.»
Cooke Aquaculture Chile warns that this would be «an unprecedented measure», since in 24 hours the Environmental Court authorized the illegal decision of the SMA and, however, delayed for four months to rule on our claim, despite the fact that the Supreme Court ordered him to do it.»
For the Canadian transnational company, “in fact, companies are today in the most complete defenselessness (sic). The actions of the SMA and, later, of the Third Environmental Tribunal against the productive sectors, contravenes the independence of the Environmental Tribunal with respect to other State bodies. This anti-company conduct (sic) occurs even when the private activity fully complies with current legislation.
It is also striking that a country that seeks to overcome its economic crisis and recover investment, has an Environmental Tribunal that meets two days a week, delaying resolutions that severely affect the rights of individuals», emphasized Cooke Chile.
The salmon and the stick: Cooke threatens the Chilean State with international legal action
Cook Aquaculture announced that its legal teams «are studying all the consequences and damages that the delay, the lack of independence and the absence of a ruling on the merits of the Third Court may have.»
In January 2023, the lawyer representing Cooke Aquaculture Chile, David Cademartori, in a previous argument in the Third Environmental Court, had described as «exorbitant» the powers of the Superintendence of the Environment, which he would use «for political purposes, in a manner illegal and arbitrary”, requesting that the measure to stop salmon farming inside the national park be rejected. See:
For his part, the regional manager of Cooke Aquaculture for Latin America, Andrés Parodi, had indicated through a press release that «we will look to all national and international legal instances to defend our rights, because the situation we are facing not only affects our company and the salmon farming activity in general, but also all the foreign investors, who watch with astonishment how the administrative authorities, bypassing all the institutional framework, persecute a private company by accusing false facts”. See:
Ecoceanos Centre: Canadian consumers of Chilean salmon must reject the colonialist and anti-environmental actions of Cooke Aquaculture in Patagonia
For Ecoceanos Centre, «Cooke Aquaculture’s behavior in making serious accusations to disqualify government environmental control institutions and the decision of the Environmental Court, threatening sanctions in international courts if the decision is not reversed, shows that its Canadian owners think that Chile it is a banana country”.
The Ecoceanos Centre noted that Canadian imports of salmon from Chilean Patagonia have multiplied 20-fold in the last two decades, making the country the second largest foreign supplier of salmon to Canada.
According to what was published by «La Presse» of Canada, salmon farming in the Chilean sea uses an abusive amount of antiparasitic chemicals and antibiotics, destroys fragile marine ecosystems, and involves the death of dozens of workers in farming centers and processing plants. throughout the year for the past two decades.
Faced with this colonialist and environmentally destructive behavior, the Ecoceanos Centre called on the Sobeys company, owner of the IGA and Rachelle-Béry chains, and the Loblaws supermarkets, which have more than two thousand establishments «to ensure that there is a 100% Canadian supply salmon” for their clients. The Chilean citizen organization recalled that Sobeys has previously stopped imports of fish from countries that did not meet their standards.
Canada: Call not to consume industrial chemical salmon from the southern hemisphere
Juan Carlos Cárdenas, director of the Ecoceanos Centre called on Canadian consumers, especially customers of the Sobeys, Provigo, Maxi and Loblaws chains, to support the demand of 47 citizen organizations, coastal communities and native peoples, who demand the exit of the 416 industrial salmon farming centers that operate destructively within the national parks and marine protected areas of southern Chile.
To this end, we request that you avoid consuming industrial chemical salmon imported from the southern hemisphere in Canada.» *****END*****
