Chile's salmon industry is pioneering innovative and sustainable farming practices, addressing environmental challenges to transport aquaculture into a more eco-friendly future.
Ranking second globally and generating 6.371 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, the industry plays a vital role in the country's economy.
Introduced in the late 19th century, salmon fuels Chile's economy with over 1300 farms employing more than 86,000 people.
However, the industry has also brought significant ecological pressure on the Latin American country for its large scale.
As a typical anadromous fish, salmon farming involves a year of production in freshwater environments and then a year in seawater. Waste feed and fish waste pose a constant threat of eutrophication, endangering marine life beneath the net pens.
To minimize the environmental impact, Chili's Institute of Agricultural Research is working on a project to repurpose the fish farming waste.
"We use this waste as fertilizer for hydroponic plants, because it contains nutrients for plants. The direct benefit is pollution reduction, achieving a 100 percent circular economy," said Constanza Jana, a researcher at the institute.
The industry push extends beyond farming to processing. Factories now turn salmon skins and bones into powder or oil products for animal feed, basically achieving zero-waste production.
"We have also made other innovations to reduce carbon emissions from electricity and water consumption. In order to be as sustainable as we can, we must do this," said Eugenio Aleman, manager of a local salmon company.
The Chilean government has halted new aquaculture permits in the Magallanes and Antarctic regions to cap farm density and protect ecological environments there.
Meanwhile, the Ministry for the Economy, Development, and Tourism is drafting a general aquaculture law to standardize practices and ensure the sustainable development of salmon farming and the fisheries and aquaculture sector at large.
Chile's salmon farms lead eco-friendly transition in global aquaculture
Tanzania and China have committed to synergizing the implementation of development strategies to boost common development, according to a joint press communique released on Saturday.
The communique was issued after talks between the foreign ministers of Tanzania and China in Dar es Salaam. Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and foreign minister, visited Tanzania on Friday and Saturday, during which he met with his counterpart, Mahmoud Thabit Kombo.
The two ministers spoke highly of the traditional friendship between China and Tanzania, which is built on trust and mutual respect, said the communique.
Noting with satisfaction the fruitful outcomes of China-Tanzania relations and friendly cooperation over the past six decades, they are committed to the practical implementation of the consensus reached by the two heads of state to further elevate the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to new heights.
China reiterated its full confidence in Tanzania's leadership and institutions to manage internal affairs independently, the communique said, while Tanzania reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to supporting the one-China principle and reiterated its consistent position of recognizing that there is but one China in the world and respecting China's national unity and territorial integrity, underscoring that any form of secession is unacceptable.
The two countries have committed to synergizing the implementation of development strategies, agreed to further expand two-way investment and trade, and reaffirmed their commitment to further fostering a fair and enabling business environment on both sides.
The two sides agreed to jointly host activities related to the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges and to expand cooperation in areas such as culture, tourism, education, public health, sports, youths, think tanks and media, so as to solidify public support for China-Tanzania friendship, the communique said.
Stressing that the two countries welcomed the smooth commencement of the TAZARA Railway revitalization project and expressed their readiness to support its implementation, the communique said that the two sides are exploring the possibility of organizing a high-level TAZARA Railway Prosperity Belt meeting in the near future.
China, Tanzania pledge to align development strategies
