Crisis and catastrophe on Chiloé: Collective memory and the (re)framing of an environmental disaster

Abstract

In May 2016, residents of Chiloé in southern Chile blockaded their island to protest the contamination of their fishery by aquaculture operators as well as the state’s failure to adequately regulate this new industry. Media coverage of events on the island, particularly the scarcity of food resulting from the blockade, constituted a discourse of images that invoked the mobilization of “respectable” women during other moments of political crisis—specifically the bread shortages during the Popular Unity government (1970–1973) and the widespread human rights abuses of the Pinochet Dictatorship (1973–1990). These images helped protestors transform an environmental crisis into a humanitarian catastrophe, mobilizing collective memory of suffering and gaining widespread support for their cause. This article argues that media coverage of the protest and subsequent support for the protestors in other parts of Chile strengthened the hand of those whose livelihoods had been affected by the crisis and led to greater compensation for fishing families.

Sanitary Crises and “No Contact” Aquaculture: Chilean Fish Farming During the Pandemic

“…Otherwise healthy salmon died of hypoxia by the thousands. Fisheries were closed and communities where artisanal fishing has endured mobilized and demanded the state take action to compensate them for their lost livelihoods (Thomas 2018).…”

“…Chilean salmon farming has drawn increased scrutiny during and in the wake of recent disruptions (Daughters 2019; Latta and Aguayo 2012), yet the aquaculture industry remains remarkably adept at responding to criticism, dismissing detractors as ill‐informed, mounting public relations campaigns, and donating to community programs and events. Industrial salmon aquaculture also continues to enjoy significant state support (Barton and Fløysand 2010; Gerhart 2017; Thomas 2018). Even in the aftermath of the 2007–2010 ISA outbreak and recent HABs, many Chileans see the industry, at worst, as one needing more oversight and investment to deliver on its promise of sustainability.…”

A Twitter-Lived Red Tide Crisis on Chiloé Island, Chile: What Can Be Obtained for Social-Ecological Research through Social Media Analysis?

“…Within this context, Chiloé is a widely employed case study on the sustainability of fishing ecosystems, especially in association with the sustainability of salmon and shellfish aquaculture and their environmental and social impacts on the island and its population [114][115][116][117][118]. The 2016 events have contributed to boosting this literature, with new contributions multiplying in recent years, covering long-term socio-cultural and social-ecological trends and transformations contributing to explain the crisis [44,119,120], the specific influence played by the salmon dumping on the crisis [46]; local perceptions on the crisis and its relationship with climate and environmental change [121] and the different frames employed in media coverage of the crisis [47,122]. Noticeably, only one of these studies [48] makes use of social media analyses, and as we observe in detail in the next section, it is focused on the limited use of these platforms for concrete political actions than on the evolution of social media communications as a way to understand the underlying dynamics of the crisis.…”

International Trade of Chilean and Tasmanian Salmon and the Governmental Human Resource Policy enabling its Expansion

“…Epidemic and environmental disasters such as this have continued to eliminate jobs in Chile. In April 2016, countless dead fish washed ashore Chiloé, a Chilean island, prompting the Government to immediately halt any fishing by locals rendering them, so they were unable to earn their livelihoods (Thomas, 2018). Locals blamed the crisis on unsanitary dumping of dead fish by salmon farmers and launched a long protest.…”

“…Escaped salmon can also transfer diseases from farmed to wild populations of the fish. The residents of Chiloé Island alleged that the dumping of sick or dead salmon by Chilean farmers resulted in death of millions of fish that were washed ashore (Thomas, 2018).…”