HOW MUCH OCEAN DOES CHILEAN SALMON FARMING REALLY OCCUPY?
By Esteban Ramírez, Technical Manager of Salmones Blumar.
Chile is, by definition, an oceanic nation. With over 4,000 kilometers of linear coastline and a territorial sea that triples our land area, the ocean is a fundamental part of our geography, our history, and our way of interacting with the world. In this context, it is not surprising that one of the country’s main productive activities has developed precisely in the sea.
Salmon farming, which makes its home in the fjords and channels of the deep south, has consolidated itself as one of Chile’s most relevant food industries, generating employment, boosting regional economies, and bringing products of national origin to millions of consumers across different continents.
But beyond its economic and social importance, there is a question that is rarely answered with concrete data: how much space does salmon farming really occupy within the vast Chilean maritime territory?
Often, the visual perception from a boat or an airplane in specific areas can give us the impression of a massive occupation. Similarly, if we look at a map of southern Chile, with its thousands of islands, channels, and fjords, it is easy to assume that an activity of this magnitude requires enormous stretches of sea. However, when we set aside that first impression and look at cartographic data and official figures, the reality is far more limited.
A drop in the ocean
If we were to add up all the aquaculture concessions granted in Chile—including not only salmon, but also mussels and algae—the total area barely reaches a minimal fraction of the national marine space.
According to the records of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca), the area designated for salmon farming in the Los Lagos, Aysén, and Magallanes regions represents less than 0.1% of Chile’s Exclusive Economic Zone. To be exact, the physical space effectively occupied—cage rafts and platforms—covers 0.004% of the country’s patrimonial sea.
To put it into an everyday image, if the Chilean territorial sea were a soccer field, salmon farming wouldn’t even occupy the size of a ten-peso coin placed on the grass.
A piece of data that helps to gauge the activity is that the 1,380 aquaculture concessions for salmonids currently existing in the Los Lagos, Aysén, and Magallanes regions—according to Subpesca records up to August 2025—represent approximately 15,325 hectares, which amounts to less than 0.1% of our Exclusive Economic Zone. Although the figure may seem significant in absolute terms, it corresponds to a very limited fraction of the maritime space available in Chile’s deep south.
This is because salmon farming cannot be developed just anywhere. Its location responds to specific environmental conditions that determine the viability of the crops and the long-term planning of the activity.
Doing more with less
Beyond how much space it occupies, an interesting aspect is how that space is used. Salmon farming makes it possible to produce high-quality protein in relatively confined areas, thanks to specific natural conditions and rigorous technical planning.
The location of a farming center depends on a combination of very specific environmental and oceanographic factors. Unlike other productive activities, salmon farming cannot be developed in just any sector of the sea.
One of the most important elements is oxygen renewal. Salmon require water in constant motion, so currents and tides play a fundamental role by naturally renewing the available oxygen and favoring water exchange within the system.
Depth is also a key factor. A farming center needs a sufficient water column between the farming structures and the seabed, which allows for maintaining adequate environmental conditions and facilitates the ecosystem’s natural processes of dispersion and renewal.
Added to this is the characteristic geography of the fjords and channels of southern Chile. These areas offer sheltered conditions against waves and weather events, which contributes to the safety of operations and the welfare of the fish throughout their entire productive cycle.
It is precisely the combination of these conditions—adequate currents, sufficient depth, and natural protection—that explains why salmon farming is concentrated in certain areas of the deep south and cannot be developed indiscriminately at any point along the Chilean coastline.
Salmon also has the particularity of being a highly efficient animal protein in terms of resource use. Regarding land use, producing 100 grams of salmon protein requires a mere 3.7 square meters of space, an infinitely smaller figure compared to the 102 square meters demanded by beef (that is, about 27 times less surface area).
This same efficiency is evident in water consumption. While producing one kilogram of salmon protein requires 2,000 liters of water, chicken meat demands 4,300 liters, pork reaches 6,000 liters, and beef skyrockets up to 15,400 liters.
While terrestrial livestock farming requires large stretches of land for grazing or forage production, salmon farming takes advantage of the water column. In a modern farming center, the fish occupy barely about 2% of the volume of a cage, while the remaining 98% corresponds to water in constant motion, naturally renewed by currents and tides.
Beyond the hectares
When talking about salmon farming, there is often a perception that the granted areas are completely occupied on a permanent basis. However, the reality of the operation is substantially more limited. Of the 1,380 existing concessions in the deep south, only about 29% are active simultaneously each year (approximately 400 farming centers), covering an area of around 4,681 hectares.
To illustrate this scale very simply: if we were to gather all those farming centers that are active at the same time and arrange them on a land surface, they would occupy barely the equivalent of 3% of the city of Puerto Montt.
Thanks to the Salmonid Concession Groupings (ACS) system, known as “neighborhoods,” the farming centers operate under coordinated cycles that include production, environmental monitoring, and mandatory sanitary resting periods. This means that the same concession alternates farming stages with fish-free stages, as part of a planned management of maritime space.
Therefore, the conversation about the use of the sea is not solely about how many hectares an activity occupies, but also about how that space is managed over time. Salmon farming coexists with other coastal uses and requires constant planning, supported by new monitoring and management technologies. Understanding how much space the activity occupies is important, but just as relevant is understanding how that space is used in a responsible and coordinated manner.
