Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fisheries and for a world without hunger Aquaculture Department National Aquaculture Sector Overview Chile I. Characteristics, Structure And Resources Of The Sector IV. Trends, Issues And Development a. Summary V. References b. History And General Overview a. Bibliography c. Human Resources b. Related Links d. Farming Systems Distribution And Characteristics e. Cultured Species f. Practices/Systems Of Culture II. Sector Performance a. Production b. Market And Trade c. Contribution To The Economy III. Promotion And Management Of The Sector a. The Institutional Framework b. The Governing Regulations c. Applied Research, Education And Training Characteristics, structure and resources of the sector Summary At the beginning of the 1990s, total harvest from cultivation centres did not exceed 80 000 tonnes. However, in 2004 they reached 688 000 tonnes. Likewise, exported volumes increased, from 30 000 to 430 000 tonnes, which can be translated into US$100 million in 1990 and 1 600 million in 2004. Salmonid species have been dominant, both in harvest volume and export values. Other important species include bivalve molluscs (oysters, scallops and mussels) and cultivation of the Gracilaria algae. Turbot cultivation has registered a gradual growth from 1 tonne (1991) to 249 tonnes (2004). The main cultivation systems in use are raft cages for fish and long lines for molluscs. Also important are cultivation systems developed on land ranging from basic technologies to very sophisticated process control systems (for example, sanitation and water recirculation). As for human resources, there is an adequate availability of researchers, professionals, technicians and specialized labour force to respond to the increasing demand by industry and public and private research programmes. Universities and higher education institutions are actively training human resources oriented towards the satisfaction of the industry’s requirements in production (marine biologists, veterinarians, fishing engineers, aquaculture engineers), processing (industrial and food engineers), and marketing (commercial engineers). There is also a growing specialisation in service areas such as environmental impact assessment, disease diagnosis and treatment, biotechnology, market studies, and foreign trade, among others. On the other hand, institutional capacity, understood as the institutions and regulations linked to the aquatic sector, has faced significant challenges imposed by the complex dynamics of its growth and development. Even though at present a complex weft of procedures involving several institutions must be overcome to obtain a permit to carry out aquaculture, the institutional capacity has fostered its development to its present status. Perhaps the most important milestone of the last few years has been the official publishing of the National FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Aquacultural Policy, which established objectives, principles and strategies associated to the activity’s sustainable development. This important instrument of public-private participation also established annual plans of action (for the years 2004 and 2005), which have been achieved satisfactorily. According to the last census, Chile has 15 116 435 inhabitants; its population density is of 20.4 inhabitants per Km2, and the average age is 30.04 years. Consumption of seafood products, mainly from capture fisheries, reaches only 7.5 kg per capita, figure considerably lower that that for the consumption of other kinds of meat (poultry: 28.8 kg, beef: 25.1 kg and pork: 19.9 kg). In 2004, aquaculture generated 17 853 direct jobs in cultivation centres. However, the industry has gathered information registering another 20 000 jobs in activities such as processing plants and miscelaneous services (harvesting, transportation, treatment of disease, etc.). In 2004, Chile’s nominal GNP was calculated in US$70 335, of which 3.18 percent correspond to the capture fisheries and aquaculture. The national GNP increased by 5.8 percent as compared to the immediately previous year. In 2004, the aquaculture sector generated US$1 581 million in exports, corresponding to 430 717 tonnes of products, mainly salmon (92.3 percent), Chilean and European mussels (2.5 percent), gracilaria (2.3 percent) and scallops (1.7 percent). Almost all of the aquaculture production is exported, mainly to the United States, Japan, and the European Union. One comparative advantage of Chilean aquaculture is the availability of nationally produced fish-feeds which utilize local raw materials (fish meal and oil). This has allowed for the development of an important fish-feed industry, which is recognised for its state-of-the-art technology and proven quality standards. During 2004, Chile produced 830 000 tonnes of fish feeds, which correspond mostly to the national consumption. Notwithstanding, 2 percent was exported to New Zealand, China, Brazil and Argentina. The Chilean aquaculture sector is expected to face several internal and external problems and threats. Internally, considering the projections for the growth and diversification of the activity, aquaculture shall have to face growing interactions with other users of the environment and spaces it occupies. In this context, Chilean aquaculture shall have to show it is willing to grow and develop under the principles of sustainable development. Externally, considering that most aquacultural products are exported mainly to three destination markets, there will be growing competition problems with other producing countries, as well as more demanding requirements associated to guaranteeing seafood innocuousness for the final consumers. However, Chile has great opportunities to continue growing in this important economic activity, considering: the quality and quantity of available environments; the growing development of the private sector’s social responsibility; the gradual consolidation of public institutionalism; the significant and growing efforts to invest in research, development and transfer of technology; and policies oriented towards the development and diversification of the activity in all stages of production. In conclusion, the growth and consolidation of this activity will depend on the fulfilment of the principles and objectives committed in the National Aquacultural Policy, and the promotion of the greatest economic growth in time, within a framework of environmental sustainability and equality in access. It is estimated that public and private will and capacities are available to face this challenge. History and general overview In Chile, the first efforts in commercial aquaculture were carried out in the period 1921-1973, through plans and initiatives, mostly by the State, on the basis of extensive and semi-intensive systems. In those years, mollusc cultivation centres were created for the development of scallop and mussel culture, as well as cultivation centres for salmon species to create and develop commercial fisheries based on sea-ranching systems (Basulto, 2003). However, commercial aquaculture began in Chile in the 1980s, coherently with the national economic policy that enthused private activity, the opening to international trade and as a response to the increase in the over- exploitation of local fishery stocks of native species destined to international markets. Thus, aquaculture quickly developed geared towards foreign trade, based on the cultivation of high commercial value species, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department and whose cultivation technology was known. The greatest technological development has been associated to the cultivation of fish, followed by the cultivation of scallops and oysters. In general, cultivation of mussels and algae are small- and medium-scale crops, with lesser levels of investment and technology. The notable development of the salmon industry after the 1980s has been based on the appropriate and advantageous natural conditions the country offers, its lower production costs, the global macroeconomic environment, and the public and private support aimed to the productive stage. There are other factors, such as tributary franchises to exports, improvement of seafood products quality control, an increase in added value, packaging, presentation, transportation, and storage and port facilities. Complementarily, the economic and foreign exchange policies, market promotion, as well as the opening of the world’s economies, a decrease in tariffs, the evolution in eating habits, an increase in per capita income in the main consuming markets and acknowledgment of the quality of Chilean products have been some of the external factors that have spurred the growth of the industry (Agosín, 1999; http://www.subpesca.cl ). In 2004, the FOB value of aquaculture-generated exports was US$1 581 444 000 corresponding to 430 976 tonnes, as opposed to fisheries, which attained US$997 848 000 with a volume of 882 122 tonnes. Out of the total volume exported, 93 percent corresponded to the intensive aquaculture of fish, 5 percent to semi-intensive and extensive mollusc cultivation and 1.7 percent to the extensive cultivation of algae (Sources: National Fishing Service, Under-ministry of Fishing; Fishing Statistic Yearbooks, 1997 to 2004, datos preliminares del Servicio nacional de Pesca). The average annual growth rate for aquaculture between 1997 and 2004 was 10.5 percent. Human resources Today, many of the jobs created, are generated by the 2 400 current cultivation centres