Puerto Montt, March 21, 2024. For three days, the Chilean aquaculture industry gave a demonstration of strength, unity and collaboration, and turned significantly towards the most important trade fair event in its history: AQUASUR 2024. With an important attendance that was reflected in the presence of more than 22,738 visitors – 97% more than in the previous version of 2022 – and a mobilizing effect that was deployed in various cities in the south of the country, the exhibition organized by FISA of the GL events Group, successfully concluded its version 2024, which brought together more than 480 exhibitors, 1,800 brands, and 20 participating countries. The companies presented their new technologies, products and innovations in the 17,000 m2 area of the TMP Logistics Center in Puerto Montt. “We are very happy for what AQUASUR generated and for having become a showcase for the Chilean aquaculture sector to the world. We hope to continue contributing as a meeting point for the entire value chain in order to contribute to the national economy. Because if we are talking about economic reactivation, AQUASUR generated more than 4,200 jobs, which means a direct impact of more than US$12 million in Puerto Montt and an important increase in the hotel sector”, said Francisco Sotomayor, CEO of GL events Chile, organizer of the fair together with FISA. In its 12th version, the exhibition also attracted 3,751 international delegates, including those from the United States, Norway, Denmark, Brazil and China, among other countries, who participated in the activities related to the event, such as the AQUASUR Night, the opening ceremony and a dinner held on Tuesday at the Radisson Hotel in Puerto Varas. “The success of this version of AQUASUR translates into several factors. One has to do with the fact that we were able to bring together the great majority of the representatives of the main aquaculture production companies in the country; the leadership and commitment shown by the unions and the entire aquaculture ecosystem, and the development of an industry that is growing in a sustainable manner and that reflects, through the fair, the strength of an economic activity that is the second most important in our country,” said Rodrigo Lobo, general manager (A) of FISA. During the days of the fair, an International Congress was held with 11 panels in which more than 50 national and international speakers participated and where topics related to the present of aquaculture were discussed, under the common concept: the blue transformation and how aquaculture is key to the food of the future, in addition to addressing the prospects of producing countries, challenges and new technologies. During the exhibition, a public-private agreement called “Project Yelcho” was also signed, with the participation of SalmonChile, the Salmon Council, the Agriculture and Livestock Service and Sernapesca. The document addresses the development of a vaccine against SRS, one of the greatest challenges facing the Chilean aquaculture industry and which seeks to reduce the use of antibiotics in the sector. “Science is necessary to solve the problems that the industry has and it was very impressive to see the level of science presented by the PhD students we had in the presentations, as well as the speakers who intervened. Our idea through all these initiatives is to repeat these experiences and just as it happened in this edition, we hope that science gets closer to the industry and the industry gets closer to science,” said Paula Miranda, manager of AQUASUR.