Christian Molinari

A vessel providing services to salmon-farming centers sunk during the early morning of 27 January in the Reloncaví Estuary in the south of Chile, killing five of the crew of eight and one crew member still missing as of 28 January. Maritime search and rescue operations were activated after the sinking of the vessel Koñimo I, involving personnel from the Navy, the Chilean National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred), the… Read More

Peru’s industrial fishing fleet has captured 1.6 million metric tons (MT) of the total allowable catch (TAC) established for the second anchovy-fishing season of 2025 in the nation’s North-Central zone, representing 98 percent of the 1.63-million-MT quota set for the season. The Peruvian Production Ministry (PRODUCE) originally established a provisional 500,000-MT TAC for the season in the North-Central zone, which was a big drop from the… Read More

The board of directors at salmon industry association SalmonChile has elected longtime politician Patricio Melero as its new president, replacing Arturo Clement, who has led the association since 2018 and will step down at the end of February. The 69-year-old Melero, who will assume the office on 1 March, has served as a congressman representing two different districts of the Metropolitan region of Chile from 1990 to 2021. He also was president… Read More

The last four years of Chilean policymaking have been very negative for the country’s aquaculture sector, according to Aquaculture Innovation Club Executive Director Adolfo Alvial. “The government moderated its stance when they began to understand the activity better, but the damage was already done; oversight that [was] beyond reasonable had already been established in the first two years of government, with signals that the market took… Read More

Chilean salmon-farming firm Multi X has completed the refinancing of USD 250 million (EUR 213 million) in debt. The refinancing process was structured in two tranches. Tranche A corresponded to a five-year long-term amortizing loan for USD 180 million (EUR 153 million), while Tranche B is a renewable 36-month revolving credit line for USD 70 million (EUR 59.6 million). The refinancing offered “favorable financial conditions,” Multi X said in… Read More

Chilean salmon-farming firm Australis has filed a new civil lawsuit against companies linked to former Australis owner Isidoro Quiroga, as well as a number of his family members and people considered part of his inner circle. The legal maneuver – the latest in a series of actions that have taken place since 2023, when Chinese firm Joyvio, which bought Australis in 2018, first filed a major lawsuit against Quiroga – requests compensation for… Read More

Chile’s Aquaculture Innovation Club will focus its efforts this year on expanding its members’ presence globally, particularly in countries that are in the emerging stages of aquaculture development, Executive Director Adolfo Alvial told SeafoodSource. The club, which is a nonprofit headquartered in Puerto Varas, Chile, has over 30 member companies that provide aquaculture services, products, and equipment developed in Chile that can be… Read More

Puerto Montt, Chile-based salmon-farming firm Ventisqueros has gotten the green light from environmental authorities to advance a proposed USD 68 million (EUR 58.6 million) aquaculture project. According to documents submitted to Chile’s Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA), the project modifies, modernizes, and improves an existing aquaculture project located in Ralún in the Los Lagos region, moving the project 700 meters south and… Read More

Aquaculture companies in Chile and Ecuador have signaled that the newly published 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans represent a significant opportunity to increase shipments to what is already one of their largest markets. Released on 7 January by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the new Dietary Guidelines encourage Americans to “eat real food” – such as high-quality protein, healthy fats, fruits,… Read More

Chilean salmon-farming firm Salmones Blumar has submitted two expansion projects to Chile’s Environmental Assessment Service for approval that aim to increase salmon production at grow-out centers located on Riesco Island in the nation’s southern Magallanes region. Both projects – costing USD 1.8 million (EUR 1.5 million) each – aim to optimize existing infrastructure without expanding the operations’ concession areas or incorporating… Read More