Russia and Chile have signed an accord that will result in greater cooperation between the two countries’ fishing and aquaculture sectors.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by Ilya Shestakov, the chairman of Russia’s federal agency for fisheries, and Pablo Berazaluce Maturana, the chairman of the state fishery sub-secretariat of Chile, during the International Seafood Forum held in St. Petersburg, Russia, last month.
The agreement covers many aspects of fishing and trading, including efforts to combat illegal fishing, protection of bio-resources, and information exchanges concerning fisheries management. But the main focus is on the development of aquaculture – an area where Russia great ambition but little experience, while Chile is recognized as a global leader.
“We’re very interested in your aquaculture experience as we’re just starting to develop this industry and eager to avoid mistakes you’re obviously familiar with,” Shestakov told his Chilean counterpart in his speech before the signing.” We’re ready to cooperate in this field.”
Berazaluce Maturana replied that Chile’s aquaculture industry is more than 30 years old, and that its path to its current success wasn’t without missteps.
“We stumbled, failed, but we moved ahead,” he said. “We feel obliged to help Russia boost its aquaculture.”
