Chile extends ban to protect giant kelp forests in Magallanes

Chile's Undersecretariat of Fisheries (Subpesca) announced it has officially decreed a ten-year extension of the ban on harvesting to protect the giant kelp forests in the Magallanes Region, in the southern part of Patagonia, at the southernmost tip of the South American continent.

The new closure will be in effect until October 2034 and is the continuation of a previous two-year ban, between 2022 and 2024, which, at the time, marked a national milestone in the conservation of these macroalgae in Chile.

During this period Subpesca has prohibited both the direct harvesting of giant kelp and the harvesting of stranded seaweed, as well as the commercialization, transport, processing, accumulation, elaboration, transformation, and storage of this species and its derived products.

Also known as bladder kelp (its scientific name is Macrocystis pyrifera), Chile's Undersecretariat of Fisheries noted that the underwater forests formed by this species of macroalgae are one of the most productive and diverse ecosystems in the world, with even greater productivity and diversity than terrestrial forests.

These sites play a key ecological role in structuring habitat, food, and shelter for various invertebrate and vertebrate species, being crucial to maintaining optimal levels of biological diversity, and there are even restorative aquaculture projects dedicated to preventing their disappearance.

Regarding the extension of the ban on giant kelp harvesting, the Chilean fisheries authority explained that "this is important news that demonstrates the unrestricted commitment to protection and conservation of the representatives of artisanal fishing and all our fishing institutions."

"This is a specific example of how the public and private sectors work side by side under a precautionary and ecosystemic approach to promote the conservation and sustainability of the hydrobiological resources associated with these macroalgae forests, promoting the productive development of the sector, which has finally materialized in this 10-year extraction ban, also contributing to face the new challenges posed by climate change," Subpesca remarked.

The measure was promoted and supported by the Magallanes Benthic and Crustacean Resources Management Committee representatives. With fjords, channels, islands, glaciers, mountains, forests, steppes, and unique wildlife, this Chilean region, located, as mentioned, in the southernmost part of Patagonia, is not only the natural habitat of the giant kelp or bladder kelp, it is also - along with Aysén and Los Lagos - one of the three main farmed salmon production zones in Chile, and a 'hot spot' for harmful algal blooms events.

Precisely because of the latter, next year, from October 19 to 24, 2025, its capital city, Punta Arenas, will be the host place of the largest international scientific meeting on harmful algal blooms (HABs), the 21st International Conference on Harmful Algae (ICHA) that will bring together the world's leading scientists and researchers in the field.