Amid strong disagreements , the Legislature of Tierra del Fuego must discuss a bill presented by libertarian legislator Agustín Coto to repeal the ban on salmon farming in the province's waters. This initiative, now supported by businessman Rubén Cherñajovsky , owner of Newsan , has sparked an intense debate between environmental defenders and supporters of economic development.
The proposal , which seeks to expand the regulatory framework to allow the industrial farming of salmonids , has generated various reactions in Fuegian society. While some business sectors support the measure as an opportunity for growth and job creation, environmentalists express their deep rejection, arguing that the activity could represent a significant risk to the local ecosystem.
“We are fighting to be allowed to make salmon, because we believe that salmon can be made while taking care of the environment, as is done all over the world,” said Cherñajovsky.
Provincial Law No. 1355 passed in June 2021, which prohibits the cultivation and production of salmonids in maritime and lake waters of the Province, was highlighted at the time as a milestone in environmental matters . However, with the presentation of this new project, a new chapter opens in the dispute between environmental care and economic growth .
For his part, the former Minister of Productive Development of the Alberto Fernández government, Matías Kulfas; He has expressed his disagreement with the ban on salmon farms , arguing in favor of production with environmental care . The former official suggests that it is necessary to regulate and control the activity instead of prohibiting it , seeking a balance between economic development and the preservation of the natural environment. «I don't think it's good to prohibit an activity. It must be regulated, have many environmental controls; You have to zone, differentiate the technologies to see which are correct and which are not; and learn," he considered.
In turn, Julio Lovece, president of the Ushuaia XXI Foundation, has pointed out the negative impacts that the implementation of large-scale salmon farming could have on the Beagle Channel and on local economic and social activities.
“When this man says he wants to make salmon, he is saying that he wants to fill all the bays from Lapataia to Moat with cages, just to provide work, we estimate no more than 75 people,” said Lovece regarding Cherñajovsky's defense. .
“It seems to me that he is one of the many businessmen who sometimes do not admit certain limits,” interpreted the environmentalist leader and former Secretary of Tourism of Ushuaia.
Regarding businessmen who "have no limits," the environmentalist added that "they consider that their profit objectives should not have any type of limit and sometimes the rules of the game are so that the sustainability of one company does not harm the sustainability of others." .
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