Masked gunmen burn down Cermaq offices

The offices of Cermaq Chile have been burned to the ground in an arson attack after four armed intruders raided the Coipue site in the country’s La Araucania region, reports cooperative.cl.

The masked gunmen set fire to the premises before firing off ten rounds of bullets at the site.

They left behind pamphlets protesting against the construction of the Freire-Villarrica highway. Three local emergency fire units were unable to prevent the total loss of office buildings, the report said.

Cermaq announced last month it would close two of its Chilean processing plants as part of a restructuring process to adjust capacity in Chilean salmon farming Region X.

The company said it would close two plants on Chiloe island, one in Ancud and the other in Dalcahue.

The company currently operates four processing plants in Region X, with the capacity to process 120,000 metric tons annually.

Cermaq\’s salmon production volume in regions X and XI has declined significantly in recent years as a result of regulatory changes in the country, and less than 60 percent of the company\’s overall capacity has been used over the past year