The Mussel Regional Strategic Program (PER) of Chile, operated by Corfo, held three workshops in Castro and Puerto Montt for mussel farmers and members of the governance so that they could learn about the Sernapesca Map Viewer. This new tool promises to transform the way in which this important productive sector and authorities monitor the toxicological information of the Bivalve Mollusk Health Program.

 

 

This innovative online tool designed to optimize the management and monitoring of aquaculture areas will also allow representatives of mussel farming to make suggestions to the instrument and prioritize needs for their productive sector. This is because the map viewer is still in the first stage of development focused mainly on information associated with the presence of harmful algal blooms, such as red tide.

 

 

Appreciation that is also shared by the mussel farmer and part of the governance of the PER Mejillón de Corfo, Walter Kaiser. “I think it is a very powerful tool that can be used by other State agencies and that will allow us to achieve the illusion that, when there are contingencies, there will be closures by polygons and not complete areas, as health currently does. We believe that this tool should also be used by the Seremi de Salud Regional, because it is very powerful and generates a real-time image of what is happening and what could happen with future emergencies regarding toxins," he noted.

 

The ability to provide feedback also ensures that the Sernapesca Map Viewer remains updated and relevant to the needs of the sector, promoting a safer and more efficient environment for the production of bivalve mollusks in Chile.

 

The regional director (S) of Corfo Los Lagos, David Espinoza, valued the work that is being developed with the governance of the strategic program. “A very important activity today in Puerto Montt that allows us to get together with mussel farmers but mainly with colleagues from the National Service of Fishing and Aquaculture where they have shown us the map viewer that allows us to look at information from the mussel farming centers and see how we have the possibility of continuing to feed it to have relevant information for decision-making in the sector,” he stated.

 

 

This real-time platform is updated with production and health data, allowing events such as the Red Tide and other environmental contingencies to be managed. In addition, it is updated with information from Sernapesca itself, productive information, but also health data, through sampling from the Bivalve Mollusc Health Program (PSMB) as information that can come from the Seremi de Salud to generate closures before a Red Tide event.

 

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