Research and development

Why research new species?

Chilean aquaculture reached its current standing mainly through established activities such as salmon farming and mussel farming. That concentration has also driven, for decades, the search for new production options.

Diversifying means widening the aquaculture mix toward new species, new regions and new production models.

The aim is not necessarily to replace existing crops. It is to open new production opportunities, reduce reliance on a few species, bring in native resources and develop products that can reach different markets.

A search that has lasted decades

Chile has run many research, experimental farming and technology adaptation programs aimed at diversifying its aquaculture.

Public, private and academic players have taken part in this process, including:

• universities;
• companies;
• CORFO;
• the Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP);
• Fundación Chile.

Following the cluster studies carried out in the 2000s, aquaculture was identified as a strategic activity for its potential for growth, innovation and added value. In that context, several public agencies began backing programs to widen the production base beyond salmon.

Which species have been studied?

The search for new options has covered finfish, shellfish and macroalgae.

The species and groups studied include:

• southern hake;
• Patagonian toothfish;
• red cusk-eel;
• yellowtail (seriola);
• corvina;
• Chilean flounder;
• oysters;
• huiro kelp and other macroalgae.

There are also projects with other species that have reached different stages of development, such as abalone, sturgeon and turbot.

But researching a species is fundamentally different from having an established industry.

From research to market: a path in stages

Not every species studied is at the same point.

Some already have stable commercial production; others serve niche markets; some have moved on to pre-commercial scale or demonstration pilots; and others remain mainly in research and development.

A species can prove that it can be bred and farmed under controlled conditions and still not be ready to become an industry.

Reaching commercial scale requires solving, among other things:

• knowledge of its biology;
• breeding and a steady supply of juveniles;
• feeding;
• animal health;
• farming technologies and systems;
• production costs;
• scale-up;
• regulation;
• financing;
• and a market able to sustain the activity.

For this reason, several projects in Chile have made important scientific progress but later ran into regulatory, health, commercial, scale-up or financing problems.

Some species have moved further than others

Corvina is one of the notable cases of applied research on native species. There is a record of farming and pilot harvests, although the challenge is still to reach stable, commercially competitive production.

Red cusk-eel has also been studied as a high-value native species, including projects with land-based and recirculating farming systems. Its development still faces challenges in scale-up, costs, steady production and market access.

Seriola, also known as dorado or yellowtail, has been part of technologically complex projects, especially in land-based systems aimed at high-value markets. Here it is still accurate to talk about scale-up and prospects, not an established industry.

Southern hake and Patagonian toothfish have also been considered in diversification efforts, although turning their biological potential into a commercial activity requires solving major technological and economic challenges.

Diversifying does not always mean more tonnage

There is another way to look at diversification.

A new aquaculture activity does not need to reach the volumes of salmon farming or mussel farming to succeed.

Some species can be developed at smaller scales and aimed at specialized, higher-value markets. Sturgeon is one example: its production interest is tied to products such as caviar and to long farming cycles.

This kind of project shows that diversifying can also mean developing specialized products, with lower volume but higher value per unit.

Why is it so hard to build a new aquaculture industry?

Developing a new species takes much more than scientific knowledge.

A whole production chain has to be built at the same time: juveniles, feed, technology, animal health capabilities, infrastructure, suppliers, regulation, financing and buyers.

That is why the step from an experimental project to commercial production can take a long time.

About 60 species with farming potential have been identified in Chile. Even so, bringing a new species to commercial scale can take about 10 years of research and development, plus the building of specialized capabilities.

This helps explain why many initiatives stay for years at pilot, pre-commercial or technology validation stages, even after achieving significant scientific results.

Research, innovation and the future

Aquaculture diversification is, therefore, a long-term process.

The Chilean experience shows that science, technology and production have to move forward together. Identifying a species with potential is not enough: a production system that is technically, economically and commercially viable also has to be developed.

Results so far have been mixed. Some activities other than salmon farming became commercially established, while many initiatives with new species remain at experimental, pilot or pre-commercial stages.

Rather than reading these processes only as success or failure, they are a way to build knowledge, develop technology and better understand what it takes to widen the country's aquaculture mix sustainably.