Chilean salmon farmer Nova Austral pushes back against critics
Nova Austral executives say the company has undergone a major transformation.
Chile-based salmon farmer Nova Austral is hitting back at sharp criticism for its business practices, noting that the company has undergone significant changes in recent years to address issues, including a management overhaul.
The company's operations damaged the seabed at a site in the Alberto de Agostini de Magallanes National Park, Chile's Environmental Superintendancy (SMA) reported.
Other incidents have dogged the company. In 2019 Chile’s fisheries and aquaculture service Sernapesca, suspended the company's “antibiotic-free” designation after it was accused of manipulating mortality figures.
The incidents have attracted critics not only from outside the industry, but from other Chilean companies, which have chastised the group for it farming and management practices.
Nova Austral executives, meanwhile, say the company has undergone a transformation since time those violations took place.
In the the last four years, the company notes, it has introduced a number of measures including a complete internal restructuring, the creation of a website for whistleblowers and the strengthening of internal controls.
"We are committed to developing salmon farming and processing in harmony with the environment and the communities in which we operate," Marticorena wrote.
"And we are committed to contributing to the development of the Magallanes region by being the engine of the economy of the city of Porvenir."
Poverty stricken Porvenir relies heavily on the company for employment. Around 900 locals work at the firm.
"The salmon industry is very nervous after the country got a new president in March. Gabriel Boric is strongly left-wing and elected on a green platform. Now he will start delivering," the source said.
In the early stages of his election campaign, Boric was one of only six candidates to mention salmon farming, singling out the industry's growth as a concern.
He called for limits on the expansion of the industry and for salmon firms to undertake studies on the production capacity of the sea floor, and for independent inspections to be carried out by Chilean authorities.
Another source said the industry criticism is aimed at creating distance with from Nova Austral and its associated breaches.
The company posted first quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $4.6 million (€4.3 million), reversing a $4.5 million (€4.2 million) EBITDA loss in the same period last year.
Revenue totaled $19 million (€17.7 million), a 24 percent drop from a year earlier as the company sold lower volumes, which were offset by higher prices.
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