Officially launched this week, the aim of the project is to develop farming technologies for Patagonian toothfish from wild breeding fish that have adapted to captive systems. The four-year project is expected to produce a first batch of juveniles -weighing 5 grams each- from incubated ovas in controlled systems.
Patagonian toothfish is harvested south of parallel 47ยบ South, to depths of 2,000 metres. It is currently subject to the Incipient Fisheries Management Development Regime, under the General Fisheries and Aquaculture Law, which fixes the annual catch quota.
Market
The main market for Chilean Patagonian toothfish is the United States, where it is commercialised under the name of Chilean seabass. The product is also exported to Japan and Europe.Farmed Patagonian toothfish has yet to be considered suitable for world-class farming systems as the technology is currently incomplete. The project is considered a technological challenge and the first for the sector and for Chile.
Experiments will be carried out in the operations centre of La Araucana Professional Institute in the Chinquihue sector of Puerto Montt, Region X, which keeps a modern breeding centre with advanced water circulation technology.
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