In southern Chile, small-scale fishers have long raised concerns about their increasing marginalization in a fisheries system skewed in favor of large industrial players. Two in-depth investigations by Mongabay Latam shed light on key mechanisms that have contributed to this imbalance, sparking consequences for the industry’s sustainability credentials and meaningful changes for small scale fishers.
In September 2024, Mongabay Latam published a report revealing how a 2012 amendment to Chile’s fisheries law allowed industrial and artisanal fishers to trade 100% of their southern hake quotas. While seemingly neutral, this opened the door for quota accumulation by industrial actors via purchasing the artisanal quotas, pushing many small-scale fishers out of the market.
“We are headed for extinction if nothing improves,” said José Alvarado, president of the Hualaihué fishermen’s federation in the Los Lagos region. In some regions like Magallanes, 98% of the artisanal quota was purchased by the industry in 2023, according to Chile’s Undersecretariat of Fisheries.
The timing was crucial: the article was published just as lawmakers were debating a new fisheries law that could reverse or modify these provisions. The reporting described a vicious cycle: over time, declining quotas and economic precarity pushed fishers to sell their rights, while aging and lack of generational renewal hollowed the artisanal sector out. Only 8% of authorized boats in the Aysén region were still operating in 2024, while those who continued fishing faced ecological pressures (like sea lion damage to their catches) and also market disadvantages: industrial buyers often outbid the artisanal processors, who were unable to match the prices paid by major exporters.
In a follow-up investigation, Mongabay Latam examined the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability certification granted to FIPES (Federation of Southern Chilean Industrial Fishers). The investigation found the certification process overlooked ongoing social and ecological harms, including overfishing, loss of artisanal livelihoods, and questionable quota practices.
Impact
Mongabay Latam’s investigations into irregularities in the fishing industry prompted the MSC to postpone the renewal of the FIPES certification. Researchers and fisheries specialists Renato Gozzer and Manuel Martinez assured Mongabay Latam journalist and editor Michelle Carrere that this was due to new and complex information received during and after the field visit, in addition to the information revealed in the two Mongabay reports. Although the certification was ultimately renewed, experts noted that the industry corrected its behavior and better aligned itself with sustainability standards.
This case highlights the power of investigative journalism to hold sustainability frameworks accountable, especially when those frameworks shape global perceptions of environmental responsibility. In Chile, Mongabay Latam’s reporting ensured that small-scale fishers’ voices were heard and that environmental oversight bodies took action. Even when the most visible outcomes are procedural, the behind-the-scenes effects — such as improved industry practices — can be profound.
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Banner image: Illustration by Tobias Arboleda.