2 January, 2025

Leaders of management areas meet to discuss the challenges of collecting mussel seeds in AMERB

January 3rd, 2025 Periodista Gabriela.Gutiérrez

In Cochamó and Hornopirén, leaders of organizations that own management areas in the communes of Cochamó and Hualaihué gathered to participate in the dissemination workshops “State of mussel banks Mytilus chilensis and challenges of seed collection in Management Areas”. Professionals from the Management Area Monitoring Program and the Mussel Larvae Monitoring Program participated in the workshops, who presented the results of the evaluation of the state of mussel banks and the challenges addressed with local actors in 2023. In addition, the management area indicator platforms and the Endemic Seed dissemination platform were shown.

Miguel Espinoza Castro, president of the Hornopirén 1 artisanal fishermen’s union, commented “this activity allowed me to see the results of the work that was done last year. I found it interesting and it was very useful to understand what the law is, the decrees and what regulations should govern us. The activity alerted me to correct the errors we have as an organization and to function better in our management areas.”

Rosa Peranchihuay Castro, leader of the Mañihueico Huinay Coastal Marine Space for Indigenous Peoples (EMCPO), commented “the meeting allowed us to meet with actors in artisanal fishing and mussel farming, helping us to know how to work with the actors in fishing. We call on artisanal fishermen to know that indigenous communities are open to working with them and we are not excluding them, but rather we integrate them into the EMCPO through the management plan that integrates all the actors in fishing.

Miguel and Rosa commented that their goal is to grow together, to develop because they all work in the same thing and hope to take care of their livelihood. “Current fishermen have grown up with the regulations and bans that help sustainability, with the Fishing Law, so we want to grow, but taking care.