As part of Marine Month, staff from the Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP) conducted various science outreach activities to bring knowledge of the marine ecosystem closer to the community of the Arica and Parinacota region. The first activity took place on Friday, May 15, at the Ricardo Olea Guerra Special School in Arica, where students participated in an educational exhibit about marine species found along the northern coast of Chile. Through taxidermied specimens, the children were able to observe and...

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From May 4 to 8, 2026, the international symposium on small pelagic fish, “Navigating Changes in Small Pelagic and Forage Fish Communities: Climate, Ecosystems and Sustainable Fisheries” (SPF-2026), was held in La Paz. This scientific meeting brought together specialists from various countries to address the effects of climate variability, ecosystem changes, and the challenges associated with the sustainable management of small pelagic fish. Chile was represented by researchers from the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV), the University of...

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On May 13th, the Marine Month Fair was held at the Penco High School. An IFOP team attended, as in previous years. Regarding the event, Cristián Villouta, Field Coordinator of the pelagic project, which includes an outreach component, stated that the objective of their participation was to show the high school students the work carried out by their scientific observers, who could be future sources of employment. The workshop delved into the work carried out on board artisanal and...

From April 2nd to May 6th, 2026, Pamela Carbonell A., a researcher at the Center for the Study of Harmful Algae (CREAN) of the Aquaculture Division based in Puerto Montt, participated in the scientific expedition aboard the German vessel METEOR. The expedition covered a 2,500-nautical-mile transect, departing from Punta Arenas and calling at the port of San Vicente in the Biobío Region. The expedition, identified as TRACK-HAB (“Tracking the footprint of an extreme harmful algal bloom event”), campaign M218,...

A group of Fisheries Biology students from the Catholic University of the Holy Conception visited the IFOP Talcahuano headquarters, where they toured the laboratories, spoke with scientific observers, and learned firsthand about the important work IFOP carries out throughout the country. This visit, requested by the university and held in recent years, enhances the students’ knowledge and future performance. Fabián Guzmán, the course instructor and head of the delegation, emphasized that “these visits are fundamental to the students’ training...

On Friday, May 15, Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture Osvaldo Urrutia Silva visited the Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP) in Valparaíso. During his visit, he met with IFOP Executive Director Luis Parot Donoso and IFOP Chairman of the Board Gabriel Yany, where they discussed various topics and received presentations on the institute’s main projects. The Undersecretary also toured the Otolith Laboratory and the Planktology Laboratory of IFOP’s Department of Oceanography and Environment. There, he learned about the laboratory’s activities, including...

A collaborative effort between 16 Chilean salmon farming companies, Intesal, and IFOP to assess the risk of wild salmon re-establishment revealed a low presence of Coho salmon and an absence of Atlantic salmon. The Chilean salmon farming industry has made significant progress toward international certification with a scientific study developed jointly by 16 companies in the sector, with technical management by the Salmon Technological Institute (Intesal) and execution by the Department of Hydrobiological Health (DSH) of the Fisheries Development...

The technical workshop “Status of Brown Algae Fisheries in the Tarapacá Region: Resource, Fleet, Market, and Management Recommendations” was held at the end of April in the Océano Sur room of the Gran Cavancha Hotel in the city of Iquique. The workshop was organized by the Regional Directorate for the Arica and Parinacota, Tarapacá, and Antofagasta Regions, in conjunction with the Benthic Resources Unit of the Fisheries Administration Division of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture. This meeting brought...

Between April 14 and 16, IFOP’s Repopulation and Cultivation (RyC) team delivered seeds of key resources to strengthen Small-Scale Aquaculture (APE) in southern Chile. The IFOP Repopulation and Cultivation team delivered seeds of northern scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) and Japanese oyster (Magallana gigas), produced at the hatchery of the Hueihue Experimental Center in Chiloé. Seeds at the IFOP Hueihue Hatchery This transfer represents the final stage of production in a controlled environment and is part of the objectives of the...

As part of the celebration of Marine Month and its 62nd anniversary, IFOP is participating in the 8th EXPOMAR, organized by the Marine Biology program at the University of Magallanes. This interactive fair brings together public and private entities connected to the marine and environmental sectors. Its main objective is to showcase the actions and activities they carry out, demonstrating to visitors the wonders of our ocean and the importance of raising awareness about its conservation. In the Magallanes...

Dr. Osvaldo Ulloa shared his experience on expeditions to depths of over 8,000 meters and the latest advances in the study of extreme ecosystems. As part of the Benthic Fisheries Monitoring Project, a keynote address was given by Dr. Osvaldo Ulloa Quijada, professor at the University of Concepción and director of the Millennium Institute of Oceanography (IMO), at the Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP) in Talcahuano. The event was organized by senior researcher Nancy Barahona Toledo and Regional Director Sergio...

As part of the Benthic Fisheries Monitoring Project, nine scientific observers from fishing coves in the Biobío and Los Ríos regions participated in a training workshop held at the Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP) in Talcahuano. The activity, organized by senior researcher Nancy Barahona Toledo, along with regional director Sergio Flores Claramunt and field coordinator Nelson Salas Jiménez, aimed to strengthen the technical skills of the participants, who play a key role in collecting information for the sustainable management of...

The heads of the Arica and Iquique regional offices, Claudia Molina and Hernan Padilla, accompanied by the Head of the Department of Oceanography and Environment (DOMA), Dr. Jaime Letelier, participated as active members in the second session of the regional roundtable on El Niño and Climate Change. During this session, IFOP representatives presented the results of their monitoring of the 2026 El Niño event, which is currently developing and affecting the northern coast of Chile, impacting the availability of...