In 2022, the provincial health department of Biobío launched an investigation into Isla Quihua, alongside two other companies, after locals complained about the smell.1 “It is a nightmare,” Víctor Manríquez, a resident who lived close to the factory, told Radio Don Matias in March 2023 about the noise pollution caused by the factory. “We can’t sleep because of the trucks that run 24 hours a day.”2 Another resident who lived near the factory complained to the radio station that the streets were too narrow for the trucks going to the plant to pass by, so they often collided with houses and damaged them.3 A number of unions and neighborhood collectives met to discuss what to do about the problems caused by the plant, according to a Facebook post.4 In response to criticism over the smells, the company announced that it would change the fuel used in its broilers from petroleum to liquefied gas, according to an article in Radio Biobío.5
In March 2023, Lota residents filed an appeal against Lota Protein and Isla Quihua, pressuring the companies to take steps to mitigate their impact on the local community, namely “bad smells, constant noise from trucks and spills of material on the streets.” Lorena Guerrero, a representative of the petitioners, explained that, while Lota Protein had “invested in equipment in recent years” to try to combat the problems, Isla Quihua had opted to “pay the fines” instead of making any efforts to change their practices.6
In February 2024, legislator Karen Medina visited the Isla Quihua plant and listened to workers’ concerns about how the restrictive fishing quotas set by a new Fisheries Law would affect their work, according to Trade Digital News.7
In February 2025, a local entrepreneur again complained to local radio about the plant. “These past few days the smell has been awful,” she said. “We’ve felt dizziness, nausea and headache from this strong smell.”8 The Isla Quihua plant responded to Radio El Carbón that its processes “have been clean, fast and environmentally optimal and the plant has an odor mitigation system, which consists of incineration and neutralization of typical emissions from the sector.”9
Industrias Isla Quihua S.A. did not respond to a request for comment.10