Christian Molinari

Christian Molinari

Contributing Editor reporting from Santiago, Chile

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

Published on
May 13, 2025

Chilean fishing company PacificBlu has announced it will shutter its operations as of 1 January 2026 after the Chilean government determined to lower the industrial fishing quota of hake in a new fishing bill.

The bill advancing in Chilean congress proposes to lower total quotas for industrial fishing in favor of artisanal fishers. 

Under the bill, the quota for hake would be lowered to 48 percent from the current 60 percent for industrial

Read More
Published on
May 13, 2025

The Chilean Congress is advancing a bill that proposes to redistribute catch quotas between the artisanal and industrial fishing sectors in the country, aiming to correct what the government considers an historical error.

However, the bill has drawn heavy fishing industry backlash and, for many, has only created more questions than answers.

The existing Chilean fishing law, enacted in 2013 and set to last until 2032, handed control of the vast

Read More
Published on
May 9, 2025
Chilean fishing company Landes, one of the six largest fishing firms in the country, has filed a legal action with the 26th Civil Court of Santiago against the state for what it claimed is “covert expropriation” in the new fishing bill making its way through the country’s congress. The Talcahuano, Chile-based firm has requested key documents relevant to the processing of the current bill be made public. The so-called “ley de… Read More
Published on
May 5, 2025

Export volumes of Chilean farmed salmon slipped year over year in the first quarter of 2025, and the Chilean Salmon Council is warning the trend might worsen due to U.S. tariffs coupled with continuous domestic regulatory issues.

The country exported 218,355 metric tons (MT) of salmon between January and March 2025, marking a decrease of 2.8 percent when compared to the same quarter of 2024, per data from the Chilean National Customs

Read More
Published on
May 2, 2025

In an increasingly competitive industry, Chile’s salmon farmers are turning to technology to drive efficiency and sustainability.

Established in 2020, the Chilean Salmon Council works to support Chile’s growing salmon aquaculture industry – which is the country’s second-largest export by value. Members of the salmon council – AquaChile, Australis, Cermaq, Mowi, and Salmones Aysén – are incorporating AI

Read More
Published on
April 30, 2025
Chilean salmon-farming firm Salmones Antártica announced it has received certification from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) for its feed plant, making it one of the first integrated companies to certify 100 percent of its production chain under the standard. The company said the… Read More
Published on
April 29, 2025

Chinese seafood firm Joyvio Food has completely divested from Chilean salmon-farming firm Australis Seafood, selling its stake to a fellow firm also under the umbrella of the Joyvio Group for the symbolic price of CNY 1.00 (USD 0.14, EUR 0.12).

Australis will be transferred to Joyvio Premium Fresh in a move that will now consider “potential strategic options” for Australis, which may include bringing new investors on board to enhance

Read More
Published on
April 24, 2025

Venezuela’s state security forces have launched an “exhaustive” investigation into a fire that took place 20 April at the Procesadora Antártica shrimp-processing facility belonging to shrimp-farming firm Grupo Lamar.

The fire was an “unusual incident,” according to an official statement released under the joint logos of the Venezuelan government and Grupo Lamar. The losses were solely material, it noted,

Read More
Published on
April 17, 2025

Peru’s Ministry of Production (PRODUCE) has set 22 April as the launch date for the first 2025 anchovy-fishing season in the country’s North-Central zone.

Authorities established a total allowable catch (TAC) of 3 million metric tons (MT) for the season, based on technical and biological reports submitted by the Peruvian Sea Institute (Imarpe). This TAC marks the second-highest seasonal quota in the last decade, PRODUCE announced on

Read More
Published on
April 16, 2025

Chilean fishing and salmon-farming firm Blumar achieved net profits of USD 17.9 million (EUR 15.8 million) in 2024, which was an increase of 36 percent from the USD 13.1 million (EUR 11.5 million) it posted in 2023, as net income from its fishing segment outweighed losses from its aquaculture segment.

Blumar’s consolidated revenues for 2024 totaled USD 618 million (USD 545 million) – down 8 percent compared to 2023 due to lower

Read More