Wild Patagonian Kings
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Season runs October 2024 - Feb 2025
Why are there wild King Salmon in Chile?
Chinook salmon were introduced into Patagonian waters in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, feral salmon numbers soared and scientists became concerned about possible effects on the environment. After much research, the scientific and governmental communities together defined the regulations for the first commercial fishery of Wild Patagonian King salmon ever in the southern hemisphere.
Chinooks are the largest and top-of-the-line among the Pacific salmon species. Unlike other Pacific salmon, which spend anywhere from one to three years at sea, kings can stay out as long as five years before returning to their natal streams.
Chinook salmon are often known and marketed by the name of the river system from which they come. Our Wild Patagonian Kings are fished in the bay waters straddling the Araucanía and Lagos regions of Southern Chile, fed by the Tolten, the Mehuin and Queules rivers.
Oversight
These fishing operations are overseen by SERNAPESCA.
Where are they fished?
The Araucanía Region of central Chile encompasses terrain ranging from the west's Pacific coastline to volcanoes and the Andes mountains in the east. Its southeast, with many freshwater lakes and temperate rainforest, forms part of the Chilean Lake District. Nature reserves, including Huerquehue National Park and Conguillío National Park.
Our fishermen are a small group, 5 boats in all to start, who are committed to hook and line fishing with best practices in regards to fish handling.
The boats are all small (5 to 7m) - day boats
They fish hook and line (no gill nets)
Fished in the bay at the entry of at the mouths of the Mehuin, Tolten and Queules
The fish is iced and bled immediately upon catch
The fishing manager has worked for the past three years in setting up a strong, quality-driven foundational fishing. He has installed a new ice machine, walk-in coolers and has outfitted the boats with hook and line only gear. He has also prohibited the fishermen from using gaff hooks to board the fish, thereby ensuring maximum quality.
Wild Patagonian Kings are packed, then shipped directly to Buena Vista Seafood from Santiago, Chile
The Season & The Size
We will have fish from October 2024 through February 2024.
Sizes will run: 7-11 / 11-18 / 18-30 / 30+ lbs
Packed in 45 lbs catch weight boxes
Why fishing wild Chilean king salmon is important
After dying from spawning in rivers, the Chinook carcasses are also contributing an excess of marine-derived nutrients in the water. In South America, there are no natural scavengers of Salmon carcasses as in North America where bears, raptors, and other animals have evolved to remove them; consequently, some rivers see an excess of certain nutrients (particularly phosphorus) that could set an imbalance in the water system. Excess phosphorus can lead to toxic algae blooms which may result in fish kills.
As a new predator, the salmon can create an imbalance in the existing food webs in Southern South America. In freshwater, the salmon can compete with native fishes for prey resources, although they may serve as food for piscivores as well. In marine waters, salmon are consuming a number of different fishes, including populations of commercially sought after species such as the Southern Hake (Merluccius australis) and the Blue Grenadier (Macruronus novaezelandiae).