– Through the cultivation of algae in salmon farming centers, Blumar, the University of Aysén and SalmonChile, together with artisanal fishermen from the Eleventh Region, seek new formulas for collaboration and innovation around multitrophic aquaculture.
– This initiative is a significant advance for industry sustainability, since algae are major nutrient absorbers and fixers of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.
Just under a year has passed since Blumar, the University of Aysén and SalmonChile began working within the framework of an Innovation Fund for Competitiveness (FIC) project from the Aysén Regional Government, which seeks to link industry with science through multitrophic aquaculture, an initiative that also has interesting development potential for artisanal fishing in the future enhancement of this activity.
This is multitrophic aquaculture, a system with successful experiences worldwide, but unprecedented in our country and with interesting potential as a productive project for other species, which in collaboration with the university and artisanal fishing, could constitute a mechanism to absorb and take advantage of part of the nutrients from salmon farming activities.
The initiative consists of developing a pilot program for algae cultivation in sea farming centers of the Blumar company. The research aims to demonstrate the capacity of these production systems to develop efficiently and sustainably from economic and environmental perspectives.
“The multitrophic aquaculture system allows biological waste from one species to be used as inputs for another. In this case, the pilot seeks to become a mechanism so that nutrients and organic waste that farming activity contributes to the ecosystem are assimilated by algae, while also helping to reduce the effects of greenhouse gases”, detailed the territorial manager of SalmonChile in Aysén, Hernán Rebolledo.
Along the same lines, the University of Aysén’s algae specialist, Marcela Ávila, who participates in the project along with a team of researchers from the university, highlights the important elements of this type of cultivation. “First is bioremediation, that is, it is capable of removing certain types of waste that could cause environmental impact; economic stability, since these are resources with value; good practices, because ultimately what we are doing is making better use of the ecosystem; and greater acceptability by society”, the researcher emphasized.
The project has been divided into two major activities: the first began in August 2020 with environmental and oceanographic monitoring, which included taking seasonal records of physical, chemical and biological parameters for establishing a baseline. The second began in June with the seeding of algae species in two Blumar farming centers. Each of these experiences will be accompanied by strict productive monitoring of variations in size and biomass of the algae, to determine growth rates and quality.
“This project could be a significant step forward to improve the salmon industry’s performance with the ecosystem, academia and artisanal fishing. The development of multitrophic aquaculture could be a path to narrow the gaps that exist in the activity and another step toward achieving carbon neutrality”, expressed Blumar’s Farming manager, Pedro Pablo Laporte.
The initiative has been carried out with the important support of some artisanal fishing organizations, since the consumption of algae for various uses, such as the cosmetic industry, direct consumption and biogas production, among others, is on the rise, and Chile has great prospects as a potential exporter of this product. This makes this initiative an opportunity for collaboration for fishermen and communities on the Aysén coast, who will be responsible for the sustainable exploitation of these algae banks.
“In recent years, the salmon industry has begun a committed process of engagement in the territories. Part of that process is adding value through our activity, promoting the economic reconversion of artisanal fishermen with concrete opportunities that, moreover, translate into environmental benefits for the entire region and country”, Rebolledo emphasized.
The first algae harvest will be in October of this year. Together with this milestone, preliminary results and improvement opportunities will be analyzed to achieve the development of this activity in an efficient and sustainable manner, while improving the balance of marine ecosystems in the process. This first phase involved working with the species Gracilaria Chilensis “Pelillo” and Gigartina Skottsbergii “Luga Roja” and, furthermore, involves prior and subsequent analysis of physical and chemical parameters, which allows for a baseline for scientific development.
“This project aims to generate valuable information so that scientists, industry and artisanal fishing can seek the best solution for the development of a new activity based on an existing one, helping the first to be more sustainable and integrating artisanal fishing into a collaboration model that further strengthens the ties between both sectors, in a territory that we share and in which we want and must relate harmoniously. Undoubtedly, the benefit is for everyone”, concluded Blumar’s Farming manager, Pedro Pablo Laporte.
