February 27, 1996
Web posted at: 9:30 a.m. EST
From Correspondent Ronnie Lovler
NEAR PUERTO MONTT, Chile (CNN) -- Cages and rafts housing salmon and trout are a common sight in the lakes and inland seas of southern Chile. The fish are farmed in that region by the millions. (373K QuickTime movie)
In the early 1980s, there were few salmon and trout in the whole of Chile. Now, even salmon eggs are incubated here -- part of a process that has made Chile the second largest producer of salmon in the world. Only Norway ranks higher.
William Fairgrieve, operations chief of Salmones Caicaen, explains that Chile's environment in the Southern Hemisphere echoes that of Norway in the north.
The region's water temperature, water quality and abundant rainfall are exactly what the fish need to flourish.
The salmon spend eight to 10 months in cages in fresh water lakes in southern Chile. When they undergo the physiological changes that necessitate a salt water environment, they are moved to nearby inland seas.
Last year, 97,000 tons of salmon with an export value of $500 million were produced -- up from 53 tons when the first salmon crop was harvested in 1981.
Chile's best customer is Japan. Many Japanese companies send their own people to the plants in Chile to make sure things are done in accordance with Japanese tastes.
Rodrigo Enfante of the Chile Salmon and Trout Producers Association says that Japan -- the main consumer of salmon in the world -- accounts for 60 percent of Chile's exports.
"A key point is the good acceptance we have had in the Japanese market," he said.
But environmentalists worry that the predominance of industrially farmed salmon in the lakes and seas upsets the ecological balance. Those in the industry disagree, claiming that it is fish producers who suffer when water quality declines.
And there is an environmental plus: Chile's salmon industry has sidelines into processing waste products into fish meal and pet food -- an ecological and profitable way to make use of what otherwise would be garbage.
The next challenge is to develop a taste for salmon among Chileans. Folks here still don't eat much of that fish, but that may soon be changing.
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