CDE filed a lawsuit in Chile’s Third Environmental Court, claiming compensation for environmental damage caused by Nova Austral’s agricultural activities. In this case, salmon overproduction and unlicensed dumping of pollutants on the ocean floor continues to cause harm. Affected areas include the Alberto de Agostini National Park in Chile’s southern fjords, the Magallanes region, and Chile’s Antarctic.
The CDE litigation builds on an earlier criminal investigation that is now going through the Future Guarantee Court. It focuses on sanctions issued by the Environmental Supervisory Authority (SMA) that it claims to have exceeded. The lawsuit also alleges that the company released pollutants onto the ocean floor.
The agent’s release caused significant damage to the surrounding water column and seafloor sediments. It has degraded marine ecosystems near aquaculture production areas. The CDE says pollutant emissions have adversely affected ecosystems in legally protected national parks, and their recovery is questionable.
Nova Austral previously faced criminal charges from Chilean environmental regulators in April 2020, including alleging that the company provided false data on salmon mortality and production capacity from 2015 to 2019. I’ve been there before. Whether you are receiving a profit and whether you are damaging aquatic biological resources in your farm lease by dumping pollutants into the environment. This case is still under investigation.
Learn more about the case here.
