A native of San Francisco, Christian Molinari has lived and worked in Chile for over 20 years, after having arrived in Santiago as a volunteer and falling in love with the culture and its people. He covered business news in Latin America for over a decade, worked in communications at IBM Chile, and currently freelances in strategic communications and reporting.
Author Archive
A criminal court in Punta Arenas, Chile, has found former executives of salmon-farming firm Nova Austral guilty of environmental crimes but has acquitted them of fraud charges.
The court has unanimously ruled that defendants Drago Covacich, a former regional manager at Nova Austral, and Nicos Nicolaides, the former CEO of the firm, were guilty of the repeated crime of water pollution between December 2016 and June 2019. Further, the judges
… Read More
Puerto Montt, Chile-based salmon-farming firm Ventisqueros plans to increase efforts to decarbonize its operations, Ventisqueros Chief Commercial Officer Javier Calvo told SeafoodSource.
Calvo called 2024 “an especially significant year for Ventisqueros” in that it developed a fish-farming center that operates 100 percent on certified renewable energy. Ventisqueros’s E-Site, located in Tubildad on the island of Chiloé in
… Read More
Ecuador President Daniel Noboa announced at the beginning of June that his government would be eliminating a diesel subsidy for the tuna sector.
In a recent press conference, government spokeswoman Carolina Jaramillo said that Ecuadorian industrial tuna fishing companies should be able to assume the increased costs of eliminating the subsidy, pointing to 2024 tuna export totals by value of USD 1.6 billion (EUR 1.4 billion) and around 565,000
… Read More
Ecuador hit an all-time high for April exports of shrimp this year, sending 254 million pounds of shrimp abroad during the month, up 3.1 percent compared to the 246 million pounds the country shipped in the same month of 2024.
The value of those exports hit USD 606 million (EUR 530 million), jumping 12.5 percent when compared to the USD 539 million (EUR 471 million) sent abroad in April 2024, according to figures from Ecuador’s
… Read More
Chilean fishing company PacificBlu has announced it will no longer seek to shutter operations.
In May, the industrial fishing firm announced it would be forced to close shop as of 1 January 2026 in response to the Chilean government’s plan to lower industrial fishing quotas of hake in a new fishing bill.
The bill circulating in Chilean congress proposes to lower quotas for industrial fishing in favor of artisanal fishers. Under the
… Read More
The Chilean Salmon Council has partnered with government-run export promotion bureau ProChile in a drive to get French chefs to incorporate coho salmon onto their menus.
As part of the push, Chilean Salmon Council Executive President Loreto Seguel met with the Association of Master Chefs of France – an organization that brings together the country’s leading chefs – where she highlighted coho’s connection to the southern
… Read More
Chilean salmon-farming firm Multi X reported record first-quarter revenue in the first three months of 2025, hitting USD 222 million (EUR 195 million) and representing a surge of 33.7 percent compared to the USD 166 million (EUR 146 million) posted in the first quarter of 2024.
The jump in revenue helped the firm record a net profit of USD 5.2 million (EUR 4.6 million), including fair value, in the period, compared to a Q1 net loss of USD 9.4
… Read More
Verlasso – Chilean salmon-farming firm AquaChile’s ultra-premium brand of salmon – will look to expand its sales by about 50 percent this year, having identified significant growth opportunities outside its traditional main market of the U.S.
“Verlasso has existed for about 15 years or so, and from 2020 to 2022, about 98 percent of Verlasso products were sold in the U.S. That came down to 90 percent in 2024, and this
… Read More
Following up on a positive 2024, Chilean fishing and salmon-farming firm Camanchaca saw its profits jump 95 percent year over year during the first quarter of 2025, largely thanks to higher sales of frozen horse mackerel coupled with lower costs of operation in its salmon-farming division.
In the three-month period, the company’s top-line revenues inched up 1.4 percent to USD 218 million (EUR 193 million) from the USD 215 million (EUR 190
… Read More
Miami, Florida, U.S.A.-headquartered salmon-farming firm Verlasso is not just trying to offer consumers premium salmon; they’re trying to offer an entire experience for their buyers through sustainability initiatives, immersive marketing campaigns, personal partnerships, and more.
“For nearly 15 years, Verlasso has been delivering premium salmon to the most discerning customers across the U.S. Our commitment to excellence is rooted
… Read More
