Chile-Significant Decline in Fish Landings During 2010

fis.com, 21 February 2011

Accumulated landings of fishery and aquaculture products upto December 2010 totaled 3.7 million tonnes, ie 21.5 per cent less than in the 12 months of 2009, when 4.5 million tonnes were landed.  According to the latest Report on the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector by the Subsecretariat of Fisheries (Subpesca),

the extractive fishing sector contributed 3.3 million tonnes between January and December 2010, while aquaculture crops reached 564,000 tonnes.

Of that, 66 per cent of landings by the extractive sector was composed by pelagic resources, a smaller percentage than a year earlier, which was 71.5 per cent. Landings of anchovy, sardine and horse mackerel respectively accounted to 23.4 per cent, 21.8 per cent and 13.3 per cent of catches by the extractive sector accumulated in 2010.

These landings were concentrated in regions V and X, which together received 1.2 million tonnes, equivalent to 60.5 per cent of the total. Further back were located regions XV and II, where landings totaled 692,900 tonnes (35.1 per cent), and regions III and IV, which accounted for 4.4 per cent of landings, represented by 87,600 tonnes.

As for catches by demersal fisheries, upto December 2010, there were 23,800 tonnes of southern hake landed, a figure which is 2.2 per cent lower than in 2009 (24,346 tonnes). The main contribution came from the industrial fleet, with 13,100 tonnes, while artisanal vessels landed 10,700 tonnes.

Subpesca also reported that landings of hake accumulated last year totaled 46,900 tonnes, representing a rise of 6.9 per cent over 2009 (43,821 tonnes). Landings of Patagonian toothfish reached 2,923 tonnes in December 2010, 3.1 per cent less than in 2009 (3016 tonnes).

Between January and December 2010, 2,400 tonnes of golden kingclip was also landed, compared to the 2,037 tonnes in the same period a year earlier, ie 15.9 per cent more.

Meanwhile, the National Marine Fisheries Service (Sernapesca) reported that aquaculture crops totaled 490,000 tonnes in the first 11 months of last year. This represents a decrease of 29.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2009, when 676,000 tonnes were harvested.

The main resources produced nationally were mussels, rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon, which accounted respectively for 41.6 per cent, 23.4 per cent and 19.2 per cent of the total harvest. Regions X and XI generated most of the harvest: a total of 356,000 tonnes and 110,500 tonnes respectively.

The harvests of mussels accumulated through November 2010 totaled 201,700 tonnes, up 23.1 per cent over the same period in 2009 (163,900 tonnes). 100 per cent of that crop came from the X region. Rainbow trout harvests totaled 114,500 tonnes, 15.1 per cent less than the cumulative volume between January and November 2009 (134,920 tonnes).

Most production was in regions X (73,700 tonnes) and XI (36,500 tonnes). Meanwhile, the Atlantic salmon harvest totaled 94,300 tonnes through November 2010, 51.4 per cent less than the amount accumulated in the same period of 2009 (193,800 tonnes).

Most of the production came from regions XI and X (61,400 and 24,100 tonnes respectively) and XII (8,500 tonnes).

Source: fis.com