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Chilean salmon farming firms are committed to expand southwards. (Photo: Mainstream)
Salmon farms strengthen expansion in southern region
CHILE
Friday, March 30, 2012, 04:20 (GMT + 9)
A total of 192 licenses for Regions XI and XII were requested from June 2011 until March this year. This number demonstrates the strong commitment of Chilean salmon farming firms to expand their activities towards the south in order to reduce risks and improve land management.
For Region XII (Magallanes) 18 licenses have already been granted, which are distributed among the firms Mainstream, Nova Austral and Salmones Magallanes. However, in the first months of the year there were other 44 applications for new aquaculture licenses in the region, Diario Financiero reported.
Out of this total, 12 would be devoted to salmon farming -- five in the municipality of Rio Verde and seven in Natales, while the rest would be involved in huiro (brown algae) growing.
In the case of Mainstream Chile, the company applied for the licenses in Magallanes eight years ago but it has managed to begin operations in late 2011 with an initial investment of USD 25 million.
The reasons for the expansion primarily lie in a strategy to reduce operational risks against possible disease outbreaks. In this sense, if a contingency is detected in a region, salmon firms will have operations in other areas and will not lose their entire production.
To ensure the re-planning of the coastline, in mid March the Fisheries Committee of the Senate of Chile approved a bill encouraging the relocation of aquaculture licenses in the regions of Aysen and Magallanes.
Magallanes region has a zoning organization, from which clusters of licenses were created. They have set distances so it is not necessary to relocate farming products as it is the case in other regions.
Meanwhile, in Region XI (Aysen) 198 licenses were granted, distributed among the following firms: Pesquera Los Fiordos, AquaChile, Australis Mar, Multiexport, Salmones Blumar, Acuinova, Cupquelan, Salmones Friosur, Mainstream, Salmones Camanchaca, Cultivos Marinos Chiloé, Yadrán , Landes Fish Farming, Pacific Star, Nova Austral and Salmones Magallanes.
In this region, from 29 June 2011 to 13 March this year, 148 new applications were presented for the granting of new licenses, according to Diario Financiero.
Of all the companies operating in Aysen, only Mainstream, a subsidiary of the Norwegian Cermaq, has a license in Magallanes Region.
Related articles:
- Mainstream invests USD 25 million in Magallanes
- Project boosting aquaculture licensed farms relocation approved
By Silvina Corniola
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
Photo Courtesy of FIS Member  Mainstream Chile S.A.
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