Last weeks volcano eruptions in South Chile have left rivers looking like a “thick, vaporous torrent of chocolate.”
The fresh water fishing industry has been affected and farmers are concerned for their cattle.
National Fishing Service Director Guillermo Rivera told El Mercurio that more than 4.5 million fish have been killed in the Río Nilahue alone as a direct result of the hot volcanic ash and rocks that have rained down into the river since Saturday.
“You can see vapors emitting from the surface of the water as if it were a hot spring,” Varas told La Tercera. “The texture is like a dark, soupy substance produced from the combustion of all the organic material.”
I’ve never seen the lake like this; it’s a disaster,” Eudulio Velásquez, a cattle rancher, told La Tercera.
“I fish here in the Lago Puyehue and the Río Gol Gol, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to fish here anymore. I think that all the salmon and trout species have been wiped out in the Gol Gol. It’s a tragedy for all the native species,” Velásquez said.
Agricultural Minister José Antonio Galilea released a statement Wednesday criticizing speculators who are offering ranchers sub-market prices for their cattle in the belief that the animals may die from volcanic ash if they remain in the area.
