{"id":34040,"date":"2026-09-28T11:35:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T15:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/?p=34040"},"modified":"2026-09-28T14:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T18:07:08","slug":"chile-se-encuentra-en-un-momento-de-transicion-clave-economia-azul-el-nuevo-valor-de-producir-desde-el-mar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/chile-se-encuentra-en-un-momento-de-transicion-clave-economia-azul-el-nuevo-valor-de-producir-desde-el-mar\/","title":{"rendered":"CHILE IS AT A KEY TRANSITION POINT: The Blue Economy\u2014The New Value of Marine-Based Production"},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"<\/a>This concept reinforces the commitment to achieving sustainability in the fishing sector\u2014encompassing both capture fisheries and aquaculture\u2014by promoting the responsible use of resources and the conservation of ecosystems.<\/em><\/p>\n

The blue economy, which seeks to derive value from the seas while protecting ecosystem health, offers significant opportunities to boost our country’s fisheries exports. Chile possesses the natural conditions, scientific capabilities, and extensive production and management expertise to sustainably capitalize on new avenues for sectoral development linked to marine conservation, blue carbon, and climate change adaptation.<\/p>\n

The blue economy concept reinforces the commitment to sustainability in the capture fisheries and aquaculture sectors, promoting responsible resource use and ecosystem conservation. “This enables the sector to realize its growth potential, shifting from volume-based production to a model that generates greater value through innovation, technology adoption, product diversification, and the development of both domestic and international markets,” the statement notes.<\/p>\n

Luis Parot, Executive Director of the Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP), asserts that Chile is at the forefront of the region in terms of seizing blue economy opportunities. “The remaining challenge to fully capturing these opportunities is to coordinate sectoral efforts into a unified national strategy that addresses both short- and medium-term needs.”<\/p>\n

Today, our country is at a pivotal transition point, moving from a fragmented ocean economy toward an integrated blue economy strategy; while it stands out for its international leadership, it also faces local regulatory and environmental challenges. \u201cChile has been making strides toward becoming a regional leader in the blue economy, thanks to a combination of marine conservation policies, the promotion of ocean innovation, and the coordination of sustainable community projects. While there is still work to be done, the progress made as a country is moving in the right direction,\u201d explains Parot.<\/p>\n

With a 62-year history, IFOP serves as the Chilean State\u2019s scientific and research arm, responsible for providing the biological, fisheries, oceanographic, and socioeconomic evidence that underpins public management decisions.<\/p>\n

Among other functions, it plays a central role in establishing safe biological catch limits, assessing the status of marine populations, and monitoring environmental variability to ensure that any marine economic development respects ecosystem resilience; it currently carries out more than 60 research projects across various fields.<\/p>\n

In terms of foreign trade, fishery product exports grew at an average annual rate of 7% between 2021 and 2025. In 2025, two million tons were exported; 55% of this volume came from the extractive fishing sector\u2014with jack mackerel standing out as the species with the highest export volume\u2014while the remaining 45% originated from aquaculture, led by Atlantic salmon.<\/p>\n

Overseas shipments generated US$9.18 billion in revenue in 2025, representing nearly 8% of the country’s total exports for that year. Additionally, Chile imported 216,000 tons of fishery products valued at US$639 million, with fish oil, canned tuna, and frozen Ecuadorian shrimp standing out in terms of volume. \u201cDespite advances in aquaculture and fisheries management over recent decades, much remains to be done to diversify the production base, technically strengthen coastal communities, and improve the balance between economic development and environmental protection\u2014thereby achieving greater sustainability as we transition toward what we call a \u2018blue economy,\u2019\u201d says Luis Parot.<\/p>\n

He adds: \u201cChile enjoys a privileged global geographic position, as its coastline lies within one of the world\u2019s most productive zones. Its vast extent enables the development of diverse fisheries\u2014driven by the variety of available resources (pelagic, benthic, demersal, crustaceans, etc.) and the range of operational scales (artisanal and industrial fishing, small-scale aquaculture, and medium- to large-scale aquaculture enterprises). This represents enormous potential that is growing in response to global demand for quality products.\u201d<\/p>\n

Therefore, it is crucial to take timely action to strike a balance between environmental capacity and the resource demands of sectoral stakeholders\u2014a dynamic further complicated by the effects of climate change, which necessitate monitoring and the implementation of mitigation strategies.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoreover, while we have historically operated under an extractivist paradigm, we have now made significant strides toward sustainability-oriented management of fishery resources and the protection of the aquatic environment,\u201d notes the executive director.<\/p>\n

In this context, provided a balance is struck between these factors and the country\u2019s social and economic needs, the potential for industry expansion\u2014as well as for the growth of the artisanal and small-scale fishing and aquaculture sectors\u2014is immense.<\/p>\n

The blue economy presents several challenges for Chile. Regarding governance, the national marine ecosystem is regulated by multiple institutions, including the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Directemar, and the Ministries of Economy, Environment, and Defense, among others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis institutional diversity,\u201d explains Luis Parot, \u201cslows down permitting and oversight processes to some extent. Furthermore, there is a lag in updating and implementing national guidelines for coastal zone usage\u2014tools that are essential for resolving spatial conflicts between conservation efforts, local communities, and industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

PENDING ISSUES<\/p>\n

The blue economy presents several challenges for Chile. Regarding governance, the national marine ecosystem is regulated by multiple institutions, including the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Directemar, and the Ministries of Economy, Environment, and Defense, among others. \u201cThis institutional diversity,\u201d explains Luis Parot, \u201cslows down permitting and oversight processes to some extent. Furthermore, there is a lag in updating and implementing national guidelines for coastal zone usage\u2014tools that are essential for resolving spatial conflicts between conservation efforts, local communities, and industry.\u201d <\/p>\n

Source: El Mercurio de Santiago","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This concept reinforces the commitment to achieving sustainability in the fishing sector\u2014encompassing both capture fisheries and aquaculture\u2014by promoting the responsible use of resources and the conservation of ecosystems. The blue economy, which seeks to derive value from the seas while protecting ecosystem health, offers significant opportunities to boost our country’s fisheries exports. Chile possesses the natural conditions, scientific capabilities, and extensive production and management expertise to sustainably capitalize on new avenues for sectoral development linked to marine conservation, blue carbon, and climate change adaptation. The blue economy concept reinforces the commitment to sustainability in the capture fisheries and aquaculture sectors, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destacados","category-noticias"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34040"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34040"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34055,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34040\/revisions\/34055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ifop.cl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}