Fishing industry in Chile

Recreational fishing tourism in southern Chile's rivers has recently gained worldwide fame attracting actors such as Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas, and Kevin Costner.

Although companies and coalitions of individuals are free to sell their quotas, they were originally allocated on the basis of the historical division of the catch among firms.

These thousands of fishermen represent nearly half of the fishing sector in Chile (about 45%) but they struggle against the increasing industrial presence, especially in Valparaiso and other small cities like Bio-Bio, Chiloe, and Pelhullue.

[8] An increase in licensing checks in the region have severely impacted the men and women who have for decades used this industry to provide for their families and pass down their skills to the next generation.

This has since become a moot point as, with the expiration of parts of the quota fishing law, artisanal fishermen's coveted and exclusive access to coastline has shrunk to within one nautical mile of the shore.

In addition to the clear monopoly of profits, Chile's new “Fisheries Act” is disproportionately beneficial to large-scale industrial fishing companies.

In February 2013, marine resources were privatized for “a period of 20 years, renewable and transferable,” disproportionately benefiting the big industrial fishing companies.

The beneficiaries are the Angelini, Sarkis, Stengel, Cifuentes, Jiménez, Izquierdo and Cruz families, who will enjoy no less than three million dollars in annual profits.

[citation needed] The main argument used by Minister Longueira to defend the legislation was that it was going to “promote the sustainability of fishing resources,” but, upon examination, this is not the case.

[12] The head of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for Chile's Sustainable Fisheries Program, Mauricio Gálvez, backs this view.

He insists “the decision of the Chilean National Fishery Council to increase the catch quota of jack mackerel by 11.9 per cent is completely unacceptable, given the current overexploitation of the stock”.