Regulatory implementation will be reached by 2011
The head of the Under-Secretariat of Fisheries (Subpesca) detailed that the mentioned schedule is in accordance with their deadline set by law. “We are not endorsing the responsibility to SalmonChile, who argued for years that self-regulation was the way forward, and the ISA virus proved differently. What we do, we will consult some industry players about certain points," he said.
Regarding some comments of César Barros, chairman of the Chilean Salmon Industry Association (SalmonChile) about self-supervising performed by the industry, Galilea said that he understands that the Barros was referring to the previous administration where a cluster had to be conformed. “We are being proactive, we know that the supervising entity is the National Fisheries Service and that we who regulate, which we are doing fully."
According to the financial journal Estrategia, Galilea commented that the 12th Region (Magellan) and its 1,200 concessions waiting for approval represent a relevant source of development, an alternative of employment and growth. And although he recognized the importance of salmon farming, he said that Chilean aquaculture includes other activities. "We are working on diversification: in the North we can farm sea bream and abalone, for example, where there are interested investors; and we can also incorporate artisanal fishermen to small-scale fish farming," he expressed.
On asking about a quicken environmental approval for aquaculture concessions Pablo Galilea said that they are working on speeding up the deadlines for approval of concessions, what can takes up to seven years. "The President Sebastián Piñera stressed that we must not only recover the sense of efficiency, but also about urgency. Our ideal is to deal with all this within a maximum period of two years, with responsibility, not repeating previous bad practices," he concluded.
