Stocked aquaculture for sustainable fisheries

By John Barraza, director of the Corvina Program of Fundación Chile

The most recent report from the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca), regarding the situation of the main Chilean fisheries, revealed something that fishermen already know only too well and confirm every time they return from the sea: marine resources are in crisis.

According to the report “State of the situation of the main Chilean fisheries, 2022”, of the 28 reported fisheries, 29% are overexploited and 28% exhausted. Among those depleted are hoki, blue toothfish and southern sardine, while the popular pippin and common hake are classified as overexploited.

Over-extraction and climate change are mentioned when analyzing the causes of this decline in marine populations, in a phenomenon that is progressive, whose impact on the coves is felt with lower catches, greater fishing effort, higher quotas restrictive and continuous closures for the recovery of the resource.

In Japan, where fish consumption is part of the daily diet, the decline in fisheries became apparent decades ago. From this supply crisis, seed aquaculture developed, generating intensive repopulation plans that allowed the recovery of species such as yellowtail, yellowtail, and tuna.

Is it possible to apply the Japanese model to recover fisheries in our country? From the Tongoy Aquaculture Center (CAT), of Fundación Chile, we maintain that yes, and that the conditions are especially propitious in the Coquimbo region, which is where we have a hatchery capable of supplying native meager juveniles (cilus gilberti) as the main species, also having the technology for the production of other fish and mollusks, the result of more than four decades of aquaculture development by our institution.

Although the croaker is not among the fisheries reported by Subpesca, landing reports show a continuous decline throughout the country, and the Coquimbo region is no exception. The traditional restaurants and picadas of the Coquimbana coast have been replacing both the croaker and other native species with fish from other Chilean locations: the overexploited pippin, which travels from the Biobío region, and salmon, which travels from Los Lagos, with an impact on the carbon footprint of the tasty ceviche or the dish that you want to enjoy.

Establishing repopulation plans for the croaker, and eventually for other fish, is a way to revitalize the coves in the area; improve the population’s access to healthy food, high in protein and omega 3, and very low in fat; differentiate the offer of restaurants with a local and sustainable product, and generate greater attraction for tourism.

Thanks to the technological development promoted by Corfo, through the PDACH (Program for the Diversification of Chilean Aquaculture), planting the sea is today a real possibility to recover fishing and the health of ocean ecosystems. Let’s not waste it.