Chile's National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) activated mass-mortality contingency plans on October 8, 2026 after a harmful algal bloom of Leptocylindrus minimus hit two salmon farms in the Magallanes region, killing an estimated 300 tonnes of fish. Sernapesca began monitoring the bloom in mid-September 2026 as concentrations crossed the regulatory reference harm limits, with the microalgae present at four cultivation centres operated by Multiexport Patagonia S.A. (Multi X).
Multiexport Patagonia, the operator of the Taraba 7 and Taraba 8 centres, and the other Magallanes salmon concession holders, mortality-handling contractors and exporters taking fish from the region must immediately remove, denature and store the dead salmon under the activated contingency plans and keep their sites ready for Sernapesca inspection while Leptocylindrus minimus stays above the reference harm limits, or Sernapesca will keep permanent inspections and can find them out of compliance with the mortality-handling duties.
What happened at the Taraba 7 and Taraba 8 centres?
On October 8, 2026 at 13:00, two of the four affected Multiexport Patagonia centres activated mass-mortality contingency: Taraba 7 (Sernapesca code 120172), with an estimated 200 tonnes of dead salmon, and Taraba 8 (code 120155), with an estimated 100 tonnes. Multiexport Patagonia alerted Sernapesca and triggered its contingency action plans, and Sernapesca inspectors went to the sites to verify the removal, handling, denaturation and storage of the mortality and check compliance with the plans.
| Farm centre | Sernapesca code | Estimated mortality |
|---|---|---|
| Taraba 7 | 120172 | 200 tonnes |
| Taraba 8 | 120155 | 100 tonnes |
Ximena Gallardo, Sernapesca's regional director in Magallanes, confirmed that the bloom is Leptocylindrus minimus above the reference harm limits and that the company has the logistical capacity to remove, denature and store the mortality and had begun the work, according to the official Sernapesca notice.
Which operators are exposed to the Sernapesca measures?
The measures reach beyond the two activated centres. By market exposure, the actors Sernapesca's inspection regime covers are Multiexport Patagonia (Multi X) at Taraba 7 and Taraba 8; the other Magallanes salmon farming concession holders whose sites sit in the same monitored bloom, including the two further Multiexport centres where the microalgae is present but contingency has not been activated; the contractors that remove, denature and store mass salmon mortality for Magallanes farms; and the Chilean salmon exporters and processors taking fish from Magallanes sites, whose supply chain and sanitary status depend on the contingency plans being executed correctly.
What must farms do immediately under the contingency plans?
The action is immediate: contingency was activated at 13:00 on October 8, 2026 and Sernapesca inspectors are already on site. Under the activated mass-mortality contingency plans, operators and their contractors must:
- Remove the dead salmon from the cages and transport it under the plan's logistics.
- Denature the mortality so it cannot re-enter the food or feed chain.
- Store the denatured mortality at the authorised sites and keep the records the plan requires.
- Keep the affected centres ready for Sernapesca inspection of removal, handling, denaturation and storage.
- Continue monitoring Leptocylindrus minimus concentrations against the reference harm limits and alert Sernapesca of any change.
What happens if a farm fails the Sernapesca inspection?
Sernapesca has emphasised that it will maintain permanent inspections to secure compliance with the required measures. An operator that does not execute the removal, denaturation and storage of the mortality as the contingency plan demands can be found out of compliance with those duties, exposing it to the service's enforcement under Chile's aquaculture sanitary regime. Continuous, per-jurisdiction real-time monitoring surfaces this kind of bloom-driven contingency activation the moment Sernapesca publishes it.
Next, check whether your Magallanes sites or suppliers fall inside the monitored bloom, confirm your mass-mortality contingency plan covers removal, denaturation and storage, and brief the team that handles Sernapesca inspections. Obsidian follows harmful algal bloom contingencies and Sernapesca enforcement across Chilean aquaculture as they publish, as a companion to your own compliance review.
