Latest news with #Patagonian
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chile's salmon farms hope for calmer waters
Chile is the world's second-largest exporter of farmed salmon, and the biggest supplier to the US. In the south of the country a dispute continues over the large number of salmon farms that are located in supposedly protected areas. The port city of Puerto Montt, more than 1,000km (600 miles) south of Chile's capital Santiago, is at the heart of the country's farmed Atlantic salmon industry. At a processing facility on the outskirts of town workers kitted out in white suits, hairnets, facemasks, and blue plastic gloves and boots prepare fresh and smoked salmon for export to the US and Japan. In a spacious meeting room, Fracisco Lobos, the chief corporate officer for the plant's owner – salmon-exporter Multi X – explains how farming the fish has transformed the south of Chile. "Salmon's been part of this region's industrial revolution," he says. "There used to be a lot of poverty in the region, and now many people earn more than in other parts of Chile. "Because of the industry a lot of support services have sprung up, which benefit the families living here, and people have moved here from other parts of the country for work." Atlantic salmon are not native to Chile. Instead, eggs were brought over to Chile from the UK at the end of the 19th Century and released into rivers, lakes and the sea to grow into fish for recreational fishing. Farming the fish in netted, offshore pens then started in the 1970s, before growing substantially ever since. There were 1,343 active salmon farms across southern Chile at the end of last year. In 2024 as a whole, Chile exported 782,076 tonnes of salmon and trout, according to the latest annual figures from the Chile's National Customs Service. The vast majority of this is salmon, but the two fish are counted together in the official data. This was worth $6.4bn (£4.8bn), making it Chile's third-biggest export after copper in first place and fresh fruit. It also means that Chile's salmon exports are only surpassed by Norway's. Some 86,000 people now work directly or indirectly for Chile's farmed salmon industry, according to trade body Salmón Chile. The farms stretch from the Biobío region, which is around 500km south of Santiago, right down to the Magallanes region in the far Patagonian south of the country, and more than 2,000km away from the capital. With global demand for farmed salmon due to grow by 40% by 2033, according to one report, Chilean producers are keen to increase their production. However, it actually fell slightly last year. Salmón Chile's chairman, Arturo Clements, says the government needs to do more to help the industry expand. "For us it's been very difficult to grow, because we have too many regulations, and we have too many conflicts regarding the use of the sea," he says. "What we need is to define a long-term strategy regarding salmon farming." BBC World Service - Chile's salmon farming puzzle Much of the conflict concerns the locations of many of the fish farms, which critics say are highly polluting. More specifically, there are 408 salmon farming concessions – licenses granted by the government that allow a company to operate a salmon farm in a specific area – within supposedly environmentally protected areas in Chile. These include 294 in national reserves, where limited commercial use of natural resources is allowed. And 29 in the more strictly controlled national parks, where business operations are officially not supposed to be permitted. Flavia Liberona is the executive director of Terram, a foundation that promotes sustainable development. In her hot and sticky office in an old building in the centre of Santiago she describes an environmental campaign that she's part of – Salvemos La Patagonia or Save Patagonia. It wants to protect the natural habitat of the entire Chilean Patagonia region. This vast geographic area starts north of Puerto Montt and then extends all the way down to the very base of the country. And it is where most of the salmon farms are located, in its many fjords. "We want the salmon farms to stop operating in the national parks and national reserves," says Ms Liberona. "The salmon farming causes various environmental problems. One is that the fish are kept in cages and fed with pellets. "A lot of the pellets and fish faeces end up on the seabed and that leads to less oxygen which kills the sea life in the ocean underneath the cages, and depending on the current, elsewhere in the sea." When these concerns are put to Mr Clement from Salmón Chile, he explains that there are different categories for the salmon farming concessions. "In terms of concessions in the national parks we have 21 that we aren't using," he says. "We have told the government that we don't want to be there and asked to be relocated but nothing has happened for many years." Regarding salmon farming in national reserves, he says that is a different environment which, according to Chilean law and the rules and regulations they follow, they can operate in. In Chile, the salmon industry is regulated by The Undersecretariat for Fisheries and Aquaculture, a public body that is part of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism. It looks at environmental protection and sustainability, and is also working on a new general aquaculture law to further regulate the sector. Julio Salas Gutiérrez, the Chilean Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, tells the BBC that the government is working to remove fish farms from the national parks. "It's not right to claim that the government 'has done nothing for years' regarding the relocation of concessions outside of national parks," he says. "Under the current administration, efforts have been made not only to understand the problem, but also to advance it. "The relocation process itself is usually quite complex, bureaucratic, and takes a considerable number of years, considering the difficulty of relocating these concessions to new areas suitable for aquaculture." Matt Craze is the founder of UK and Chile-based Spheric Research, which studies global seafood markets. He says that Chile's salmon industry would invest more money "if they felt that there was a better regulatory framework, and the government gave some certainty about the areas where they can farm". Yet with a general election due in Chile later this year, the uncertainty may continue at least in the short term. Winemakers finding Trump's tariffs hard to swallow Did Trump really strike Gulf deals worth $2tn? The world's most dangerous country for trade unionists Is the US finally on track to build a high-speed rail network?
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Time of India
White Desert to launch multi-country trek across Peru and Chile, ET TravelWorld
Adventure 2 min read White Desert to launch multi-country trek across Peru and Chile White Desert, the Antarctic luxury travel company, is set to launch its first non-polar journeys under 'The Dr. Jones Collection' in September 2025. The new Peru-to-Patagonia itinerary blends remote landscapes, cultural heritage, and cinematic travel experiences across South America, with stops ranging from Amazonian sarcophagi hikes to Chilean stargazing and Patagonian horseback expeditions.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Experts celebrate as head-turning bird species makes impressive comeback from brink of extinction: 'A remarkable turnaround'
Years of conservation work are finally paying off for Tasmania's orange-bellied parrot, whose numbers once dipped to just 17 known individuals in the wild. Today, that number is estimated to be in the low hundreds, according to the Good News Network, which summarized the conservation success. Since 1994, the Orange-bellied Parrot Tasmanian Program, managed by the state's Natural Resources and Environment Department, has been releasing captive-bred individuals into the wild. It recently released a group of 28 juvenile parrots to join an adult breeding and nesting colony. Madeleine Ogilvie, secretary for the department, told Australia's ABC News that its wildlife experts predict more than 200 orange-bellied parrots will migrate north — a critical journey for the species — this breeding season. "That's a remarkable turnaround compared to the 2015-16 breeding season, when only 15 nestlings were produced, and an estimated 35 birds migrated north," she told the news outlet. Orange-bellied parrots are one of only three migratory parrot species in the world, according to the Victoria state government. These birds help sustain the environment in a number of ways — for instance, birds play a critical role in seed dispersal through their droppings. And according to the National Audubon Society, bird poop is also an important fertilizer. This is one of many wildlife conservation success stories in recent years. For instance, conservationists announced that lion cubs had been born for the first time in 150 years in South Africa's Zululand. And Argentina's Patagonian coast has welcomed back sei whales thanks to global bans on commercial whaling that have allowed these animals to slowly recover their population over the past century. In Australia, "the release [of captive-bred birds] … is a critical component towards maintaining the population and ensuring the species doesn't go extinct," independent bird ecologist Eric Woehler told ABC News. Still, the species' gene pool remains extremely limited, so scientists are considering cross-breeding to save them from extinction, reported. "Capturing several specimens and breeding them would lead to more birds, but their gene pool would still be too shallow to allow them to overcome diseases once they were released into the wild," the site explained. "The only way to save them … is to diversify their genes." Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
News18
19-05-2025
- Science
- News18
Why The Crumbling Of Argentina's Iconic Glacier Is A Cause Of Concern
Last Updated: Experts say Perito Moreno in Argentina has maintained its mass for decades. But accumulation of icebergs over the past few years has been a cause of concern for glaciologists Argentina's iconic Perito Moreno glacier became a sight of awe and concern when a block of ice some 70 meters (230 ft) tall, the size of a 20-story building, collapsed into the blue waters of Lake Argentina. Several tourists had gathered to witness the view of the glacier located in Los Glaciares National Park in the southern province of Santa Cruz, which is shrinking quickly due to global warming. Why The Breaking Off Of The Glacier Is Alarming The breaking off of the glacier, called 'calving", has been keeping glaciologists worried as Perito Moreno, for decades, has been maintaining its mass even as warmer climates spurred faster glacial melting worldwide. On the latest event, which took place on April 21, Pablo Quinteros, an official tourist guide at Los Glaciares National Park, told Reuters, 'Ice calving events of this size haven't been very common at the Perito Moreno glacier over the past 20 years… It's only in the last four to six years that we've started to see icebergs this big." Argentine glaciologist Lucas Ruiz with state science body CONICET, whose research focus is the future of Patagonian glaciers in the face of climate change, said, 'It had been in more or less the same position for the past 80 years. And that's unusual." 'However, since 2020, signs of retreat have begun to be seen in some parts of the Perito Moreno glacier's face," said Ruiz, as quoted by Reuters. He said the glacier could rebound as it has done before, but that for the moment it was losing between one and two meters of water equivalent per year, which if not reversed could lead to a situation where the loss accelerates. A 2024 state-supported report, co-authored by glaciologist Lucas Ruiz, revealed that although Perito Moreno maintained a stable mass for nearly 50 years, the most significant and long-lasting ice loss has occurred since 2015. On average, it has lost around 0.85 metres of mass per year over this recent period, the fastest rate in the past 47 years. Scientists monitoring Perito Moreno say they have detected a slight but steady increase in air temperatures in the area, approximately 0.06°C per decade. At the same time, precipitation has decreased, which means less snowfall and, therefore, less new ice forming at the glacier's top. Meanwhile, melting and calving have increased at the base. This imbalance, less accumulation above and more melting below has not only caused thinning of the glacier but has also led to its shrinking. What Do We Know About The Perito Moreno Glacier? The glacier was born in the Patagonian Continental Ice, which is the largest ice field in the world after Antarctica. It is located near the city of El Calafate in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz. The Perito Moreno originates at just 1,500 metres above sea level and the front is located at 200 metres above sea level, making it accessible to visit. It is 50 km long and descends to Lake Argentino. Its frontage is 5 km and about 60 m high above the water level. The surface of the glacier is 250 km2, a little more than the surface of the City of Buenos Aires. In 1881, the Boundary Treaty was signed between Argentina and Chile and it was determined that since it was located to the east of the Andes mountain range and its slope towards the Atlantic Ocean, the glacier remained under Argentine sovereignty. The 'White Giant' comes under the Los Glaciares National Park — a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What Is Glacial Melting? Glacial melting is the process in which lass masses of ice lose mass, turning into water due to rising temperature or changes in environmental conditions. Calving happens when ice break off from glacier's edge, forming icebergs or smaller ice fragments. The process erodes the glacier's base. Some of the causes of glacial melting include: Climate Change: Rising global temperatures, driven by greenhouse gas emissions, have increased air and water temperatures, accelerating surface and basal melting. Reduced Snowfall: Less snow accumulation in colder months fails to replenish ice lost during warmer periods. Black Carbon and Pollutants: Soot and other particles settle on glaciers, reducing their reflectivity and absorbing more heat, speeding up melting. Geographic Factors: Glaciers in warmer regions or those with unstable bedrock are more prone to rapid melting. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get Latest Updates on Movies, Breaking News On India, World, Live Cricket Scores, And Stock Market Updates. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : glacier News18 Explains Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: May 19, 2025, 13:31 IST News explainers Why The Crumbling Of Argentina's Iconic Glacier Is A Cause Of Concern | Explained
Al Etihad
16-05-2025
- Science
- Al Etihad
Huge ice falls at Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier stir awe and concern
16 May 2025 23:34 PERITO MORENO GLACIER, Argentina (Reuters) The deep cracking sound bursting from within the ice signals the dramatic fall about to happen. Seconds later, a block of ice some 70 metres tall - the size of a 20-story building - collapses from the face of the Perito Moreno glacier into the aquamarine water sight has attracted visitors to Argentina's most famous glacier for years. Standing on platforms facing the ice, they wait for the next crack to split the cool Patagonian recently the size of the ice chunks breaking off - a process called "calving" - has been starting to alarm local guides and glaciologists, already anxious at a prolonged retreat by Perito Moreno, which had bucked the trend in recent decades by maintaining its mass even as warmer climates spurred faster glacial melting worldwide."Ice calving events of this size haven't been very common at the Perito Moreno glacier over the past 20 years," said Pablo Quinteros, an official tourist guide at Los Glaciares National Park in the southern province of Santa Cruz."It's only in the last four to six years that we've started to see icebergs this big," he told Reuters during a visit in face of the glacier, which flows down from Andean peaks to end in the waters of Lake Argentina, had for decades held more or less steady, some years advancing and others retreating. But in the last five years, there's been a firmer retreat."It had been in more or less the same position for the past 80 years. And that's unusual," said Argentine glaciologist Lucas Ruiz with the state science body CONICET, whose research focus is the future of Patagonian glaciers in the face of climate change."However, since 2020, signs of retreat have begun to be seen in some parts of the Perito Moreno glacier's face." He said that the glacier could rebound as it has done before, but that for the moment it was losing between one and two meters of water equivalent per year, which, if not reversed, could lead to a situation where the loss accelerates.
