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 land facilities.
For its Mina Elena center, Blumar has proposed increasing maximum production to 9,696 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon per production cycle from its current limit of 5,000 MT, with an estimated cycle of 20 months and an average harvest weight of 5.7 kilograms per fish.
The project includes changes in the configuration of cages to handle the increase by replacing the current 23 circular pens with 18 40-by-40-meter square pens that are 20 meters deep while also adjusting anchoring systems, pontoons, and associated equipment. If approved, this would all come without expanding the 44.5-hectare concessioned area.
Construction on the project would begin in August 2028 and wrap up in November of the same year.
Salmones Blumar proposed similar work at its María Olvido grow-out center to expand current production capacity from 7,000 MT to 9,400 MT per 20-month production cycle, also with an average harvest weight of 5.7 kilograms per fish. It would replace its current 32 circular cages with 20 larger 40-by-40-meter square pens that are similarly 20 meters deep without expanding the 78-hectare concession.
The project’s estimated launch date is set for March 2027, with work culminating in June of the same year.
The proposed expansion comes after Salmones Blumar’s parent company Blumar recently posted consolidated revenues of USD 569 million (EUR 487 million) for the first nine months of 2025, which was up 30 percent compared to the same period of 2024 thanks largely to a difficult 2024 and operational normalization in 2025.
During the nine-month period, Blumar’s aquaculture business accumulated revenues of USD 327 million (EUR 280 million), a 62 percent year-over-year gain driven by a 69 percent increase in sales volume.
EBITDA during the period for the firm overall increased 22 percent year over year to USD 82.2 million (EUR 70.4 million), and net profits surged 305 percent to USD 24.7 million (EUR 21.2 million) from the USD 6.1 million (EUR 5.2 million) brought in during the first nine months of 2024.
