MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Salmon industry in Magallanes planning to boost output to 80.000 tons by 2020

It is estimated only 15/20% of farming licences will be finally awarded

Magallanes region in the extreme south of Chile should see farmed-salmon production jump from 6.000 tons to 80.000 tons in a decade, according to Drago Covacich, general manager of Nova Austral.

However the industry must still recover from the ravage caused by Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) which is estimated to have caused losses of 10 million US dollars, destruction of over 4.500 tons of fish and al least 200 people left redundant.

“We estimate that by next year we should be back to the original production of 9.000 tons (4.000) of trout before ISA struck”, said Covacich in an interview with La Prensa Austral from Punta Arenas.

Nevertheless much will depend on how many of the production licences requested (1.600) are finally awarded and this will be in accordance with a new tough aquaculture legislation which is particularly sensitive to sanitary and environment circumstances.

“Of the original number of requests, at the most 15% to 20% will be granted, which is in the range of 200”, said Covacich since in spite of the benefits of salmon breeding for Magallanes, the tourism industry and anglers associations are very uncomfortable with the “invasive” salmon species.

Nova Austral has 70 requests for salmon licences, “but we estimate that maybe 25 are favourable”, said the Chilean businessman.

Covacich is pushing for Magallanes to become a cluster for the salmon industry, where the private sector and the government join efforts to improve sanitation, investment, and infrastructure and working conditions for staff which has been another international criticism of the Chilean salmon industry.

According to Nova Austral, Magallanes is virtually virgin regarding its potential. While the Region of Los Lagos concentrates the industry with 65% of its coastline dedicated to salmon farming and neighbouring Aysen, 45%, “in Magallanes it is below 2%”.

Finally Covacich said only two companies following the ISA sanitary emergency are left in Magallanes and with production capped at 10.000 tons since 2007.

Nevertheless Covacich estimates that by 2020, “five or six companies will be involved in the region with an annual production of 80.000 tons of salmon, equivalent to sales of over 200 million US dollars and 5.000 direct jobs”.