Chilean salmon-farming firm Salmones Austral has submitted a USD 5.5 million (EUR 5.1 million) project for environmental approval to expand operations at its 10-hectare Angosta grow-out center in the country’s southern Aysen region.
As part of the plan, the company is looking to expand production of Atlantic salmon from 5,200 metric tons (MT) to 7,900 MT per production cycle. Currently, the center has 20 square pens; the firm wants to reduce the number of cages to 18, but enlarge each one, aiming to achieve an average harvest weight of 5 kilograms in a maximum cycle of 15 months.
In addition to increased salmon production, the company is also considering cultivating macroalgae at the center, with a maximum annual production of 120 MT, comprising 20 MT each of six different species. In the environmental impact statement attached to the project’s submission, Salmones Aysén said that the macroalgae farming would be carried out in alternating cycles with the salmon grow-out plans; therefore, the two activities would not take place at the same time.
If approved, the project would launch in September 2025.
Salmones Austral was established in 2013 following the merger of Trusal and Pacific Star...
