Beleaguered Chilean salmon farmer Nova Austral on Wednesday fired its CEO Nicos Nicolaides in connection with an ongoing investigation into the company's misreporting of fish mortalities at its farms.

Recently hired COO Francisco Miranda, former managing director of Cermaq Chile, will lead all sales and operations, while former Cencosud CFO Nicolas Larco will take the place of CFO Sergio Montenegro Mikkelsen.

In addition, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has officially suspended Nova Austral's licensing agreement, following legal proceedings launched this week by Chile’s National Service of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Sernapesca) concerning fraud allegations against the company.