October 7, 2003
Chile Salmon Farms Aims to Take Over Norway as World No 1 Producer
This simple formula for fattening salmon in the pristine waters of Chile's Patagonia is gaining mass profits for the most-advanced economy in South America, set to take over Norway as the world's largest producer of farmed salmon.
Norwegian production of salmon grew threefold in the last 10 years, but Chile's jumped nearly 20 times to 35% of the world total, compared with Norway's 37% share.
And from this new frontier of salmon farming, where snowcapped peaks descend into deep fjords and strong marine currents, Chile wants to double its export of the non-native species to $2.4 billion in 10 years.
"The future is here," said Ignacio Sandoval, manager at Salmones Friosur in Puerto Chacabuco, a fast growing fishing centre full of salmon pens and processing factories. "Like this bay, there are countless places out there in the fjords."
Indeed, on the fjords and islands of Aysen, an area Chileans call the country's 11th region, there are 20,000 miles of coastline to which salmon farmers can anchor their pens.
Aysen is remote, a cold corner at the end of the world wedged between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean and home to around 100,000 residents. Its excellent waters, however, have drawn some of the world's fishing giants, like Spain's Pescanova, and logistics are such that a fresh salmon fillet from its fjords is delivered to Japan or the US in 3 days.
"There will be many challenges and accusations, like the ones of dumping that we've had, but we are competitive because of the quality of our waters," said Sen. Antonio Horvath, who backs the industry that brought life to his dormant region.
VORACIOUS APPETITE
Norway's industry partly blames Chile's salmon surge for its woes. Fourteen Norwegian salmon farmers have filed for bankruptcy this year, unable to pay the heavy debts they incurred during the boom in salmon in the 1990s.
Salmon - introduced to Chile 100 years ago - is now one of the pillars of its export-driven economy, along with copper, wood and fruit, and there is plenty of political support for the industry, including that of President Ricardo Lagos.
But not everyone is thrilled with the voracious appetite of Chile's "salmoneros" - as what the Spanish calls this industry.
Environmental activists fear Aysen and its unique biodiversity will fall in the same plight as the 10th region, the birthplace of Chile's salmon farming in the 1980s.
The 10th region is still home to some 80% of salmon production, but its waters are saturated. Environmental groups have warned of contamination from intensive farming, including "mountains" of organic waste from food and faeces.
"They depleted the 10th region and now they are going to replicate this model in the 11th," said Rodrigo Pizarro, executive director of Terram, a Santiago-based think tank that specializes in the environment.
