• Industrial Fishermen of Biobío seek to highlight this superfood native to this area of the country and which has multiple health benefits, bringing it closer to people through an event that includes live cooking and a deployment of nutritionist teams. The invitation is from 12:30pm in the main squares of the three communes.
Chilean jack mackerel is not only a key fishing resource for the economy of the Biobío Region, it is also a popular food on the tables of families throughout the country, forming part of national identity. Seeking to highlight its multiple contributions to health care, this Thursday will see the first edition of Jack Mackerel Day, an open event that seeks to value this traditional fish.
The initiative is driven by Industrial Fishermen of Biobío, who will deploy simultaneous activities in the Plaza de la Independencia of Concepción and in the Plazas de Armas of Talcahuano and Coronel, starting at 12:30pm, in an event that will include live cooking led by Inacap, a deployment of nutritionist teams from San Sebastián University, who will provide information on the nutritional properties of jack mackerel, as well as contests and educational spaces on the history, its capture process and the work carried out in plants where frozen and canned products for human consumption are produced.
“With the first edition of Jack Mackerel Day we want to reinforce the consumption of this fish that has always been on the tables of Chileans, and which is recognized worldwide as a superfood for its high content of Omega-3, vitamins and minerals. We are living in a time where regulatory changes driven by the Government have weakened the national industry dedicated to jack mackerel, but we are convinced that this resource is not only a fishing product, but a true regional heritage that generates employment, value and that has a quality recognized by its blue label, an international certification that endorses its responsible and sustainable fishing. We want people to know this, which fills us with pride,” said the president of Industrial Fishermen of Biobío, Macarena Cepeda Godoy.
To celebrate this traditional fish, on Jack Mackerel Day 1,800 sandwiches will be distributed, with the aim of showing its versatility in the kitchen and bringing it closer to the community as an easy-to-prepare, healthy alternative and highlighting it as a protein that can be used in the most varied recipes.
Signature collection
In parallel, during the activity a citizen campaign to collect signatures will begin, aimed at having September 25th officially incorporated into the national calendar as Jack Mackerel Day. For this, people will be able to approach a totem set up in each square where a QR code will be displayed, intended to generate a collective effort to institutionalize a date that recognizes the contribution of this fish to people’s consumption, its nutritional value and that asserts national sovereignty over a product rooted in the country’s history.
“We invite everyone this Thursday to be part of Jack Mackerel Day and with your attendance, give this regional push to have an official date on the calendar that puts Biobío at the center of the country. Chilean jack mackerel is dignity, work, sovereignty and, above all, a key element for the region’s economy. Thanks to the work we have developed from the industry over the last decade, this resource is healthy, abundant and is an example in the world of responsible and sustainable management. It will be a day to celebrate a fish that we love and that belongs to everyone,” concluded Macarena Cepeda.
