Chile's salmon industry is pioneering innovative and sustainable farming practices, addressing environmental challenges to transport aquaculture into a more eco-friendly future.

Ranking second globally and generating 6.371 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, the industry plays a vital role in the country's economy.
Introduced in the late 19th century, salmon fuels Chile's economy with over 1300 farms employing more than 86,000 people.
However, the industry has also brought significant ecological pressure on the Latin American country for its large scale.
As a typical anadromous fish, salmon farming involves a year of production in freshwater environments and then a year in seawater. Waste feed and fish waste pose a constant threat of eutrophication, endangering marine life beneath the net pens.
To minimize the environmental impact, Chili's Institute of Agricultural Research is working on a project to repurpose the fish farming waste.
"We use this waste as fertilizer for hydroponic plants, because it contains nutrients for plants. The direct benefit is pollution reduction, achieving a 100 percent circular economy," said Constanza Jana, a researcher at the institute.
The industry push extends beyond farming to processing. Factories now turn salmon skins and bones into powder or oil products for animal feed, basically achieving zero-waste production.
"We have also made other innovations to reduce carbon emissions from electricity and water consumption. In order to be as sustainable as we can, we must do this," said Eugenio Aleman, manager of a local salmon company.
The Chilean government has halted new aquaculture permits in the Magallanes and Antarctic regions to cap farm density and protect ecological environments there.
Meanwhile, the Ministry for the Economy, Development, and Tourism is drafting a general aquaculture law to standardize practices and ensure the sustainable development of salmon farming and the fisheries and aquaculture sector at large.