December 23, 2009
 

Chilean aquaculture industry on road to recovery

The Chilean Economic Development Agency (Corfo) has approved credits of US$7 million to seafood firms Novofish, Aquastar and Frasal.

This development, along with ongoing mergers and acquisitions, indicated that Chile's ISA-ravaged salmon industry is going on to recovery. In fact, the industry may start to recover in early 2011, said former undersecretary of Fisheries, Felipe Sandoval.

The credits will benefit projects related with improvements in salmon harvest systems, mortality handlings at hatcheries and fattening sites, and a salmon production increase.

Sandoval said there should be an upturn in the Chilean salmon industry in the mid-term, although 2010 will be a year of low production due to the extension of productive cycles.