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
On 29 June, a woman walking along the coast of Sauce de Portezuelo, near Uruguay's famed beaches of Punta del Este – found a bottle containing a handwritten message in a foreign language that she didn't comprehend, but which ended in three letters that she did recognize: "SOS." Recognizing it was a request for help, she immediately notified local authorities, who referred the matter to the regional prosecutor's office.
Uruguayan press
… Read More
Guatemalan fishing council Industria Pesquera y Camaronera de Guatemala (Indupecasa) and the Center for Development and Sustainable Fisheries (CeDePesca) have collaborated to relaunch a fishery improvement project (FIP) for the Pacific mahi and yellowfin tuna fishery operating within Guatemalan waters.
The Guatemalan mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) fishery, which has been in place for 20 years and mainly features small-scale boats, is an important
… Read More
Puerto Varas, Chile-based Australis Seafoods has filed several proposed compliance programs to address concerns raised by Chile’s Superintendency of the Environment (SMA).
The SMA has accused Australis Seafoods of producing more than 85,000 metric tons (MT) of farmed Atlantic salmon beyond what its permits allowed between 2014 and 2022, filing 21 sanctioning procedures against Australis, including 52 serious infractions for
… Read More
Ecuador’s National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA) has expressed concern over surging operating costs and falling international prices in the country’s shrimp sector that have “reached alarming levels.”
Given the situation, the sector has seen a USD 0.98 (EUR 0.90) decrease in liquidity for each pound of shrimp produced, equivalent to a year-to-date economic impact exceeding USD 1 billion (EUR 917 million), the chamber
… Read More
Chile’s Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) charged Salmones Camanchaca on 12 June with alleged overproduction at its Leucayec grow-out center in the southern Aysén region.
According SMA’s national information system on environmental audits (Snifa), Camanchaca allegedly surpassed its 5,000 MT production limit by 14.6 percent, or 728 metric tons (MT), between March 2019 and July 2020.
On 13 June, SMA filed overproduction
… Read More
Punta Arenas, Chile-based salmon farmer Nova Austral fell deeper into the red during the first quarter of 2023, and the company is struggling to find a path out of its difficult financial position.
Nova Austral has been under intense public scrutiny since 2019 after revelations that it allegedly engaged in false reporting of its mortality figures – an infraction for which it has faced criminal charges, followed by fines for reported
… Read More
A joint committee in Chile’s congress has rejected a proposed modification to the country’s general fisheries law that would have prohibited new or renewed aquaculture concessions in protected areas.
The congressional committee rejected the article for the proposed creation of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service (SBAP), which would bar the introduction of exotic hydrobiological species – such as salmon – from
… Read More
The Peruvian Production Ministry’s (PRODUCE) cancelation of the main anchovy fishing season in the country’s north-central zone will negatively affect the production of fishmeal, but its stated justification is guaranteed sustainability of the biomass.
In May, PRODUCE delayed launching the season due to a high presence of juveniles, resulting from the effects of El Niño. That delay had already caused consternation among
… Read More
Peru’s Production Ministry (PRODUCE) has delayed the launch of the main anchovy fishing season in the country’s north-central zone due to the effects of El Niño.
The situation is causing consternation among industrial fishing fleets that are responsible for the world’s largest anchovy fishery.
“The situation is really complicated. El Niño is already hitting the [northern] Peruvian coast with a 2.5 degrees
… Read More
Salmones Camanchaca closed the first quarter of 2023 with solid profits, driven by increased sales volumes at higher prices.
The vertically integrated salmon-farming firm, based in Santiago, Chile, enjoyed a lack of extraordinary mortalities, due in large part to benign oceanographic conditions. The company also benefitted from a risk-diversification strategy enacted after algae blooms dealt a big blow the company in 2021. Algae mitigation
… Read MoreRecent Articles
