Grey Havoc
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- 9 October 2009
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Falkland Islands fury as new fishing row erupts with Argentina
Controversial salmon farming plans have become a new front in an escalating geopolitical and environmental dispute between Argentina and the UK.
Plans to build large-scale salmon farms off the coast of the Falkland Islands have triggered a fierce backlash in Argentina, with critics raging at what they regard as “imperialist plunder” and a potential environmental disaster on the scale of Chile’s salmon farming collapse. Unity Marine, a company backed by Danish and British investors, is seeking to establish eight salmon farms between three and seven kilometres off East Falkland.
The operation aims to produce 50,000 tonnes of salmon annually, with the capacity to expand up to 200,000 tonnes. A public consultation on the plans is ongoing and will run until August. While Unity Marine’s director, James Wallace, has defended the initiative as a vital economic boost for the islands, opposition in Argentina is broad and vocal. Environmental groups and officials warn that the farms threaten fragile marine ecosystems across the region, including nearby Tierra del Fuego, where salmon farming was banned in 2021.