Reactivation of salmon farming in Magallanes could generate more than USD 300 million in revenue for the region. (Photo: Stock File/Subpesca/FIS)

Zonification of coastal edge of Magallanes completed

CHILE
Thursday, April 07, 2011, 22:40 (GMT + 9)

Next Saturday, the processing of applications for aquaculture concessions to be reviewed in the Magallanes region will resume, after the completion of coastline zoning.

The final zoning plan was adopted after the closure of processes for Magellanes, Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica.

According to data released by Diario Financiero, there are around 700 applications pending for the granting of aquaculture permits.

The head of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries (Subpesca), Pablo Galilea, said that they would prioritize applications that were already underway before the new ones.

"We have around 700 applications that are viable in the region of Magallanes, which will enter the evaluation process, and we expect that hundreds of requests will come in after 9 April," said the undersecretary.

He added that almost all salmon companies in Chile, - AquaChile and Friosur, among others - are waiting for permits to create additional centers.

Galilea said that the fact that an application for aquaculture has been accepted for processing does not imply in any way the granting of a concession, since this requires it to meet all the requirements of the General Law on Fisheries and Aquaculture and changes to existing regulations.

"We can ensure that the allocation of concessions will be consistent with the zoning process developed in the region," said Galilee.

"The Undersecretary of Fisheries is working in coordination with the National Fisheries Service (Sernapesca) to avoid the embarrassments that arise from the term of the suspension of the processing of applications for aquaculture, since our goal is that the process resumes in a more transparent and expeditious manner as possible," he concluded.

The regional secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Pablo Ihnen, estimated that the recovery of the salmon industry could generate revenues of between USD 300 million and USD 400 million and a production of 40,000 tonnes of salmon in 2014.

Related article:

- Salmon industry participates in zoning of Magallanes

By Analia Murias
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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