How Chile can take the chains off its salmon industry

Business leaders in Chile have proposed substantial changes to the country’s controversial Lafkenche Law as part of a wide-ranging plan to boost economic growth, reports Fish Farming Expert's Chilean sister site, Salmonexpert.cl.

The Lafkenche Law guarantees indigenous communities access to coastal waters for customary uses such as fishing, but has been used by some small communities with just a handful of members to claim control of thousands of hectares of marine areas.

Their applications, which can take years to be processed, have paralysed salmon farming expansion in the areas claimed under the Lafkenche Law because processing of applications for new sites is immediately suspended. Some communities have also been advised by foreign NGOs that oppose salmon farming and help the communities draw up management plans for the marine area that exclude fish farms.

Presidential candidates

Chile’s Confederation of Production and Commerce (CCP) has included changes to the Lafkenche Law among 50 recommendations that could signifcantly benefit economic growth.

These have been presented to the candidates in November’s presidential election, so they can consider including them in their government programmes and, in the medium term, implement pro-development public policies.

One of the most effective ways to drive growth, according to the CPC, is to modify the Lafkenche Law to define its application with objective criteria. The CPC says modification should be implemented by the next government within three months.

Suggested changes

To prevent the blocking of maritime and aquaculture concessions, the CPC proposes:

• legally redefining what is meant by “customary use”, who can claim it, and how to accredit it to avoid ambiguous interpretations;
• establishing clear limits on the surface area of Indigenous Peoples' Marine Coastal Areas (ECMPOs) to avoid applications that cover large areas without cultural or ecological justification;
• requiring scientifically based technical, environmental, and social studies before approving an ECMPO;
• publishing all information on applications, approvals, and rejections in a public and transparent registry;
• linking the process to national marine territorial planning to avoid overlapping with protected areas, aquaculture concessions, or industrial zones;
• establishing minimum ecological criteria for requesting an ECMPO in fragile or highly biodiverse areas;
• postponing the suspension of applications for areas for productive purposes once customary use has been verified by CONADI, the National Corporation for Indigenous Development.