During the fair, more than 1000 brands will be exhibited, with the participation of 35 countries from Norway, Spain, United States, Canada, Denmark, China, Japan, Korea, France and Portugal, among others. The exhibition, which began today, will be held until Friday, March 4. The Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Alicia Gallardo, together with the general manager of Fisa, Francisco Sotomayor, and the sector’s guilds kicked off AquaSur 2022, the 11th version of the most important aquaculture exhibition in the Southern Hemisphere. The international meeting, which opened on Tuesday, March 2 and ends on Friday, March 4 in Puerto Montt, will address the great advances of the sector, the momentum it presents in terms of development, the challenges of the industry and the new technologies that seek a more sustainable production. During the inauguration, the general manager of Fisa, Francisco Sotomayor, emphasized that “it is important to highlight the generation of business that a platform such as AquaSur provides, understanding that in an event like this more than US$ 150 million of business is closed. Hence the relevance of maintaining instances such as these”. Sotomayor emphasized that “we hope to continue contributing as a meeting point for the entire value chain in order to contribute to the national economy, especially if we consider that, if we are talking about economic reactivation, on-site AQUASUR generates more than 3,000 jobs and more than US$ 9 million of direct impact in Puerto Montt and its surroundings”, added Sotomayor. In view of Chile’s important role in the world aquaculture industry, the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Alicia Gallardo, referred to the importance of promoting sustainability in the industry and contributing to local and national development through the generation of business opportunities, boosting the creation of direct and indirect jobs that are produced around the fair. “Today the aquaculture industry supplies more than 100 markets globally, generating more than 70 thousand jobs in the regions of Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes. In addition, the latest seafood indicators in Chile reveal a significant increase in the consumption of mussels and salmon. It is therefore very important to communicate the advances in technology, regulation, innovation and consumption of our aquaculture products and to address the challenges that the industry faces,” said Undersecretary Gallardo. Guilds Also present at the AquaSur opening ceremony were the mayor of Puerto Montt, Gervoy Paredes; the director of Directemar of the Chilean Navy, Juan Gajardo; the president of AmiChile, Branco Papic; the president of the Salmon Council, Fernando Villarroelel; the territorial director of Salmon Chile, José Tomás Monge; the president of the Magallanes Salmon Farmers Association, Carlos Odebret; and the general manager of CMPC, Alfredo Gili of CMPC. On the occasion, the aquaculture unions highlighted the importance of the work of women and men in the industry, who drive the national economy by delivering seafood products to millions of Chileans and abroad, and the importance of job creation for the development and growth of the industry. “Aquaculture is an important economic engine for the country; specifically, mitiliculture is a tremendously important industry for the Los Lagos region, distributing its operations mainly in 3 of its 4 provinces, which employs more than 17,000 people, including a significant number of them who could not access other formal work given the geography of the region and the lack of connectivity of the places where they live,” said Branco Papic, president of AmiChile. Along the same lines, they called for protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development, seeking to maintain responsible entrepreneurship. “We want the industry to be a catalyst for the transition to a sustainable economy, using technology and knowledge to boost the regions in which it operates. We are convinced that it is possible to reconcile care for the environment, respect for neighboring communities and the sustainable progress of our economic activity in a competitive and balanced way,” said Fernando Villarroel, president of the Salmon Council. At the event, the territorial director of Salmon Chile, José Tomás Monge, highlighted the value of the international fair and the opportunities it provides for business generation. “In this version of Aquasur we want to show the opportunities that we are generating as a salmon sector, and that they can share the new innovations that are being developed for a more sustainable and technological activity”. The exhibition will be held in a space of 15,000 m2 where more than 1,000 brands, 35 participating countries, with the participation of up to 10,000 visitors during the event, will be presented. “We are pleased with the new version of AquaSur. Aquaculture is the heart of the economy of the southern regions. Aquasur is the only event in which, in the same place, we can see the future of the activity”, concluded the president of Salmones Magallanes, Carlos Odebret. International Congress Within the framework of the exhibition, this Thursday, March 3, the “International Congress Blue Trilogy: Ocean, Aquaculture and Society, feeding the future” will be held. The meeting will address the following topics: Sustainability and innovation; Technology and human capital: the changes to come and; Well-being and health, a One Health perspective. The inauguration of the congress will be attended by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an entity that supports and promotes associativity in the aquaculture industry.