Business leaders, artisanal fishers, tourism operators, students and citizen organizations in Puerto Natales, in the southern Chilean region of Magallanes, have created the Salmon-Farm Free Patagonia Association. The entity, founded on Jun. 28, calls on the government to decree an end to the expansion of salmon farming in the country's southernmost zone, where 17 farms are already operating and where more than 1,000 fish farm permits have been requested. “We are asking for a moratorium until an environmental and social impact study of salmon farming can be conducted,” because we have seen the massive layoffs caused in the southern regions of Los Lagos and Aysén by infectious salmon anemia, association member Romano Tótoro told Tierramérica.