Criminal activity suspected in escape of over 40,000 salmon from Chilean farm

Editor/Mohamed Shihab

An estimated 42,618 salmon recently escaped from a farm owned by Chilean salmon-farming firm Granja Marina Tornagaleones, which conducts business under the name Marine Farm.The firm reported the incident on 3 October to Chile’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca), saying the escape at its farm located in the San Antonio Channel within the country’s southern Los Lagos region was due to ripped mesh at two of its pens.

According to Sernapesca records, at the time of the event, the farming center had a total of 1,165,260 coho salmon with an average weight of 3 kilograms distributed across 26 cages.

After the firm self-reported the incident, Sernapesca activated on-site inspections to verify compliance with the company's contingency action plan, which included a visual record by underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) of the damaged pens and subsequent repairs, as well as recapture of as many escaped specimens as possible.

“We will continue to inspect in person and in documents to verify that the company's contingency action plan is fully complied with, and we will take the corresponding legal actions,” Sernapesca Los Lagos Regional Director Cristian Hudson said in a statement. “It is important that citizens always prefer to buy salmon in established premises that ensure the legal origin and the appropriate sanitary conditions for consumption.”

Calbuco Mayor Marcos Silva said that the escape was caused by “a criminal act.” He also warned that the escaped fish are unsuitable for human consumption since they had recently received antibiotic and antiparasitic treatment.

“There are [criminal] networks involved in this type of crime. This was not only a group of divers who cut the nets, as was seen in these pens,” he said. “There are also people who are dedicated to capturing and then selling these species.”

The mayor noted that from this incident, more than 20,000 fish – which had been slated for harvest in January 2026 – had already been illegally put on the market.

Prosecutor Marcelo Maldonado said the Public Prosecutor's Office would investigate whether the opening of the two pens was caused by third parties. Legal action will be taken if non-compliance is detected, with the competent authorities being informed to determine the appropriate responsibilities and sanctions, he said.