• Explorations with the ROV submarine robot were carried out by experts between August 3rd and 7th.  
• The images captured show that the cages, submerged at 295 meters depth, remain in the same location, and the biomass is confined within the fish farming structures and nets. 

 Puerto Montt, August 12, 2020. Robotic explorations of the seabed are being conducted by Salmones Blumar to verify the status of the infrastructure and biomass found inside the fish farming cages and nets submerged at 295 meters. In this way, it is complying with another of the urgent and temporary measures required by the authorities.

Among the multiple tasks being carried out by the company in the sinking zone are significant human and technological deployment, as well as the conduct of different studies to monitor marine environment behavior. 

One of these reports is the Verification of the Status of Structures and Biomass present on the seabed, which must be reported weekly. For its preparation, the company hired an external firm to, through the ROV submarine robot, weekly monitor the module’s position and the status of fish found inside the cages. 

The first exploration, conducted by specialists between August 3rd and 7th, captured images that allow us to conclude that, to date, the module has not shifted and remains in the same location since the day of its sinking, which can be verified thanks to the georeferencing of the cages. Likewise, the images and analyses also show that the structure is in good condition.

Regarding biomass, experts verified that it is encapsulated within the structure and fish farming nets in the same location. 

Another finding made by experts shows that no presence of gas bubbles from organic matter was detected nor visible traces of contaminants from the structure on the seabed.

Martín León, head of Corporate Affairs for the company, indicates that these findings are a first indication of how biomass and structures are behaving on the seabed. “To date, the structure remains immobile at the same point where it was found after its sinking, and the biomass is encapsulated within the structures and fish farming nets”, he explains. And he adds that “periodic explorations with highly technological submarine robots as well as the different marine studies we are conducting with scientists allow us to maintain constant and serious monitoring of the module and biomass interaction with the marine environment”. 

First campaign of the Comprehensive Monitoring Plan  

The company also launched the Comprehensive Monitoring Plan approved by the Navy, after installing the set of current meters and continuous measurement devices, which will allow monitoring of an extensive area of the Seno de Reloncaví. This allowed that during the past Friday, Saturday and Sunday the scientists in charge of that work began to conduct the first of the 11 committed oceanographic campaigns, in which variables were measured and samples were taken to determine 22 physical, chemical and biological parameters from the surface to the seabed at different points in the Seno de Reloncaví. The samples taken are being analyzed by certified laboratories and as soon as the first report is finished, it will be delivered to the authorities.

The Comprehensive Monitoring Plan includes eight monitoring stations and four control stations. The samples allow for quantitative analysis of phytoplankton as well as measuring total and partial organic carbon, total nitrogen, nitrate, nitrite and phosphate, among others. The seabed is also analyzed, from where sediments are extracted, and benthic macrofauna and the presence of scavengers are investigated. And in parallel, the behavior of birds and sea lions is also observed. 

In this regard, Martín León explains that “this Comprehensive Monitoring Plan, which is already underway, is a rigorous and serious multidisciplinary work, not free from climatic difficulties and on-site problems that are complex to solve, but it will be of great importance to know, with concrete and objective data, what is happening on the seabed and how the ecosystem behaves”.