2. Chile Report: Salmon Farming

Gilbert Vergères | March 10, 2019

Processing Plant Visits

The visit to the primary plant San Jose in Calbuco was an 1 hour drive through very typical landscape in the middle part of Chile.

In this plant, they have harbour cages in the sea where the fish can rest before being pumped through a channel into the facility, which is less stressful for the fish.

After entering the facility, the salmon is ready to be delivered to the secondary plant within 30 minutes, or ready for the last check for fresh market delivery.

Picture Martin 5.5kg Salmon

The value added plant in Tomé is the perfect add on to produce finished (value added) products. The two new production lines offer a tremendous advantage to fulfill costumer needs very quickly.

Our visit showed us, how the salmon farming industry is changing the behavior in regards to farming. New standards and regulations have been necessary and are improving the image of the industry dramatically.

The company was very transparent, speaking of sustainability and treatments they are using. They are also a member of the GSI (Global Salmon Initiative).

Picture Bonafide in Chile

The goals of this organization are as follows:

  • Achieving the highest level of environmental and social standards: The GSI members have committed to achieving the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification across 100% of all farms
  • Improving biosecurity (disease management)
  • Securing sustainable sources of feed ingredients
  • Improving industry transparency: In 2015, the GSI launched the first industry-wide annual Sustainability Report, transparently sharing key sustainability data for all companies and all regions

We further received the Sustainability update (click here to read the PDF file), which shows the efforts and improvements of Salmones Camanchaca. And here you get further details on the Chile Salmon industry regulation.

Picture Tome

What is your opinion? Join the conversation

We were once again very impressed with what was shown to the Bonafide team in Chile. The new hatchery impressed us most, the value added plant with the new fast lines for producing finished products was also great to see.

But what we are most interested in is to hear from you:

Do you know how much progress the Chilean farming sector has made in the last decade?
What do you know about great fish farm infrastructure?
Have you ever taste-tested Salmon from different countries at the same time?
Could you taste or smell any difference?

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