Abstract

The Chilean rules and regulations for fsheries and aquaculture consider diferent types of use of space in coastal areas. Tose types have diverse scope, from simple preferences of use between agents of fshing operations or creation of protected areas to the granting of exclusive use rights of certain areas and concessions for the development of aquaculture activity, all of which leads to it existing rigths with diverse content. A future Coastal Act should play a key role in establishing mechanisms for the conciliation of these diferents interests and conficts of use that the fsheries and aquaculture regulations have caused. It should also fll the gaps and uncertainties caused by an inorganic, partial and successive legislation, which has only increased governance problems in national coastal areas. A new conceptual framework is needed in which coastal zones are viewed as integrated management spaces oriented by principles of sustainable development and with respectful to the way of life of coastal communities. The determination of this new framework should take into consideration the necessary gradualness to generate an orderly and transparent transit towards the new legislation is enforced.