Abstract

A historical and geographical analysis of the Chilean salmon aquaculture colonization was carried out considering aquaculture licenses. This industry has many environmental and social conflicts in Patagonian seascapes, so a historical view can provide insights for future marine exploitation planning. A total of 1,398 salmon aquaculture licenses have been granted over 40 years, and 367 applications are under evaluation. Most granted license sites are located in the north side of Patagonia (39% and 51.8% in Los Lagos and Aysen regions, respectively) and, the southernmost region (Magallanes) contains 8.5% of granted licenses, though it has the highest number of pending licenses (47.7%), which are under assessment processes. Over time, the geographical areas of salmon farming operations have changed due to multiples factors such as marine pollution, excess of salmon farms, and disease outbreaks, triggering three pulses of colonization. This process has generated many conflicts linked to indigenous marine stewardship, customary sea tenure, and biodiversity conservation. Considering this scenario, in this work it is considered that new salmon farming expansion could change the social-ecological system in the southern tip of South America.