Even before Chile President José Antonio Kast took office in March, he has been outspoken in his intentions to cut down on government bureaucracy, free up investments, and drive business.
Shortly after donning the presidential sash, Kast began following through on those promises by reversing course on several actions and strategies taken by his predecessor, Gabriel Boric, regarding environmental controls, the fishing sector, and the salmon-farming industry.
The latest such action to come out of his administration is a request for the resignation of María Soledad Tapia, the national director of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca), who was appointed under Boric.
Tapia is due to step down from the position on 31 October after the government formally communicated its request for her voluntary resignation earlier in the month.
The government has not publicly detailed the reasons for requesting Tapia’s departure, which comes after she spent more than 17 years at Sernapesca. Before she was tapped to lead the agency in 2023, she served as regional director in Valparaíso and in Tarapacá, deputy director of fisheries, head of human resources, and director of the agency’s school of oversight and inspection.
Her time at the helm of Sernapesca largely overlapped with Boric’s four-year term, which began in 2022. Over his four years in office, he frequently questioned the environmental sustainability of the country’s salmon-farming industry and went as far as saying he was considering a moratorium on the farmed salmon sector that would halt expansion in the country.
In that context, during Tapia’s tenure, Sernapesca emphasized inspection, sanitary surveillance, environmental contingency management, and coordination among public agencies. In 2025, the agency reported 4,962 inspection actions at 2,473 operational aquaculture centers, identifying 258 regulatory violations. Its special inspection program for aquaculture in protected wild areas carried out 926 actions at 316 operating centers and documented 133 environmental breaches.
Detractors at the time complained that the government was overzealous in its environmental controls, claiming that salmon farming was the most audited industry in Chile. While there were just six government inspections of salmon-farming operations in 2020, this ballooned to 1,802 in 2023, resulting in just 1.8 percent of the cases receiving a sanction.
Pablo Ortiz, formerly Sernapesca’s deputy director of fisheries, has assumed the role of acting national director and will lead the agency while a public selection process is conducted to appoint a permanent successor.
“We have a solid and committed technical team throughout Chile. Our focus will be on giving continuity and dynamism to the strategic priorities of the service, ensuring close, rigorous, and transparent territorial management at the service of users,” Ortiz said.
The next permanent director will lead the agency at a time when the country’s aquaculture industry has demanded predictable regulatory requirements, efficient procedures, and consistent enforcement.
Federation of Artisanal Fishermen of the Biobío Region (Ferepa Biobío) President Cristian Arancibia told media outlet Diario Concepción also said artisanal fishing representatives are calling for improvements in the agency’s operations, seeking improved inspection processes, more controlled fishing operations, strengthened traceability infrastructure, and more transparent and reliable records.
He also called for stronger action against illegal fishing and oversight that treats all participants fairly, emphasizing the importance of dialogue with local organizations and an understanding of regional conditions.
The leadership change comes just about the same time the government submitted its proposed 2027 budget.
The government’s budget for next year has increased just 1 percent, but its funding for the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca), if approved, would increase by more than 36 percent, while Sernapesca would also receive additional resources.
Subpesca’s allocation would rise from CLP 37.8 billion (USD 38.4 million, EUR 34.2 million) in 2026 to CLP 52.9 billion (USD 53.8 million, EUR 47.8 million) in 2027 with a mandate to simplify procedures and improve the management of sectoral authorizations.
Sernapesca’s increased budget, meanwhile, would provide resources for inspection equipment. Its 2027 objectives include expanding the digitization of procedures and reducing regulatory compliance gaps in aquaculture.
At the same time, the environmental inspection program of the Superintendence of the Environment (SMA) faces a proposed real-term funding reduction of 19.2 percent, as well as the elimination of 14 broader SMA permanent staff positions and another two non-permanent positions, according to online publication El Maipo.
Other environmental programs would also face reductions. The Sustainable Development program’s allocation would fall from CLP 8.11 billion (USD 8.2 million, EUR 7.3 million) to CLP 4.56 billion (USD 4.6 million, EUR 4.1 million), while the Environmental Protection Fund would decrease 29.4 percent.
This stark contrast between proposed increases for certain agencies and cuts to environmental inspection has raised questions about whether the government’s emphasis on streamlining permits will be matched by sufficient resources for environmental oversight.
Elsewhere, the budget proposal also includes CLP 514 million (USD 522,000, EUR 465,000) for an Indigenous consultation related to reform of the Lafkenche Law, which regulates Indigenous Peoples’ Coastal Marine Areas.
Kast has been critical of the controversial law, which was originally introduced to consider the territorial rights of Indigenous people in Chile and their ancestral use of marine resources. He has said the law has been incorrectly used to hold up salmon-farming development, aligning with complaints the aquaculture sector has voiced for years.
