Salmon farmer Cermaq lost between 40,000 and 50,000 trout in an escape from its Ensenada Lorca site in Region XII in Chile due to tough weather conditions.

The escape notified to Chile's National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) on March 11 was caused by ruptures in one of the two stocked cages after several days of heavy storms.

The company is in close contact with relevant authorities to manage the issue and verify the exact amount of escaped market-size fish, according to the Sernapesca.

The company is harvesting fish which are around an average 3kg.

A massive storm that lashed the Faroe Islands between Feb. 28 and March 2 resulted in the loss of around 1 million fish with an average weight of 2.1 kg, salmon producer Bakkafrost reported last week.