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Fisheries and aquaculture in Chile: who can fish and farm, Chilean flag vessels, transferable fishing licences, aquaculture concessions and the annual patents

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Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Industrial fishing and aquaculture in Chile are open to Chilean companies with foreign capital. Individual applicants must be Chilean or foreign permanent residents, and fishing vessels must be registered in Chile. In fully exploited fisheries with a global quota, industrial operators hold transferable fishing licences (class A) for 20 years, renewable unless the holder has repeated sanctions, and pay a vessel patent each March and a specific tax each July. Aquaculture concessions in designated areas last 25 years, are renewable and can be sold or leased. They pay an annual patent of 2 UTM per hectare, or 20 UTM for exotic fish such as salmon, plus 10 UTM per hectare for each year a site goes unused.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (CVE 2891564). UTM amounts use the SII value of CLP 72,151 for October 2026; patents are paid at the UTM in force on payment.

Key facts

Term of class A transferable fishing licences, renewable	20 yearsLey General de Pesca y Acuicultura art. 26 A, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Industrial fishing vessels must be registered in Chile	Yes textLey General de Pesca y Acuicultura art. 14, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Top annual fishing patent rate, vessels over 1,200 GRT under an authorisation	1.5 UTM per GRTLey General de Pesca y Acuicultura art. 43, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Term of aquaculture concessions, renewable	25 yearsLey General de Pesca y Acuicultura art. 69, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Annual aquaculture patent per hectare (non exotic species)	2 UTM per hectareLey General de Pesca y Acuicultura art. 84, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Annual aquaculture patent per hectare for exotic fish	20 UTM per hectareLey General de Pesca y Acuicultura art. 84, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Extra patent per hectare for each year of non use after 54 idle months	10 UTM per hectareLey General de Pesca y Acuicultura art. 84, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. In the territorial sea, outside the area reserved for artisanal fishing, and in the exclusive economic zone, a general access regime applies to industrial fishing in fisheries not declared fully exploited, in recovery or in incipient development. Vessels of any type used must be registered in Chile under the Navigation Law. Industrial fishing needs an authorisation for each vessel. An individual applicant must be Chilean or a foreigner with permanent residence. A legal entity must be legally constituted in Chile; where it has foreign capital, the law asks it to show, where applicable, that the investment was authorised under the rules in force.
Cost to do it: Authorisation application costs and the annual fishing patent in rule 3.Decreto Nº 430 of 1991, Ministerio de Economía, consolidated text of Ley Nº 18.892, Ley General de Pesca y Acuicultura, Art. 14, art. 15 and art. 17, 1992-01-21 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. In fisheries declared fully exploited with a global catch quota, holders of fishing authorisations receive class A transferable fishing licences (LTP). These temporary licences last 20 years, are renewable, and equal each shipowner's participation coefficient in percent to seven decimals, which can fall by up to 15 percent through auctions under art. 27. Before expiry they are renewed by supreme decree at the request of the holder, lessee or user. Renewal is refused if, within 10 years, the applicant had more than four sanctions under art. 40 B and 40 C in the same fishery, more than three partial lapses, or repeated serious labour and social security breaches. Licences not renewed are auctioned for 20 years under the class B rules.
Cost to do it: Annual LTP patent and specific tax in rule 3.Decreto Nº 430 of 1991, Ley General de Pesca y Acuicultura, as amended by Ley Nº 20.657, Art. 26 A and art. 26 B, 2013-02-09 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 20.657, published on 9 February 2013, set class A transferable fishing licences at 20 renewable years and made renewal depend on the holder's sanction and labour record.

3. Holders of fishing authorisations and permits pay each March an annual fishing patent per vessel: 0.4 UTM per gross registered tonne for vessels up to 80 GRT, 0.5 UTM per GRT over 80 up to 100, 1.0 UTM per GRT over 100 up to 1,200 and 1.5 UTM per GRT over 1,200. Holders of class A and B transferable licences pay in March 0.44, 0.55, 1.1 and 1.66 UTM per GRT on the same bands, unless the vessel already pays the first patent. Class A holders also pay each July a specific tax: the tonnes they may catch, times the observed dollar rate at the end of June, times the higher of 4.2 percent of the species' 2011 reference value (indexed to the FAO price index) or a statutory formula. Cash contributions to the Fisheries Research Fund in the prior year are creditable up to 100 percent against these payments. Chilean vessels with at least 85 percent Chilean crew fishing only on the high seas are exempt from the fishing patent.
Cost to do it: 0.4 to 1.5 UTM per GRT a year for authorisations; 0.44 to 1.66 UTM per GRT for licence holders; plus the class A specific tax.
Example: A 500 GRT vessel under a fishing authorisation pays 500 UTM a year, CLP 36,075,500. A 1,500 GRT vessel registered for transferable licences pays 2,490 UTM, CLP 179,655,990. / About US$36,566 for the 500 GRT vessel and about US$182,100 for the 1,500 GRT vessel.Decreto Nº 430 of 1991, Ley General de Pesca y Acuicultura, Art. 43, art. 43 bis and art. 43 ter, 1992-01-21 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Aquaculture concessions exist on beaches, beach land, water and seabed areas and in rivers navigable by vessels over 100 GRT, in areas declared suitable for aquaculture by supreme decree of the Ministry of Defence. They are not granted over natural beds of aquatic resources, and intensive or exotic species farms must stay at least 1.5 nautical miles from marine parks and reserves. Only Chilean individuals, foreigners with permanent residence, and legal entities constituted in Chile may hold them; for Chilean entities with foreign capital the law asks for prior approval of the investment by the competent body. Concessions and aquaculture authorisations give no ownership of water or seabed. They last 25 years and are renewed for equal periods unless half the environmental reports were negative or a lapse ground applies. They are transferable and may be the object of any legal transaction. Transfers, leases or other dealings in applications before the concession is granted are prohibited, and registration in the national aquaculture register is required to operate.
Cost to do it: Technical project and environmental assessment where required, plus the annual aquaculture patent in rule 5.Decreto Nº 430 of 1991, Ley General de Pesca y Acuicultura, as amended by Ley Nº 20.434, Art. 67, art. 67 bis, art. 69 and art. 71, 2010-04-08 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 20.434, published on 8 April 2010, amended art. 69 to set the current 25 year renewable term for aquaculture concessions, tied to the environmental reports.

5. Holders of aquaculture concessions and authorisations pay an annual aquaculture patent of 2 UTM per hectare, or 20 UTM per hectare where the technical project involves exotic fish, prorated for areas under one hectare. If a site has not been used in the previous 54 months and no lapse applies, it pays 10 UTM per hectare more for each year of non use, unless it is in a mandatory sanitary rest, affected by an environmental event or force majeure, in a declared sanitary emergency or under an ordered suspension. Patents of non exotic farms, and 10 UTM per hectare of exotic fish farms, are shared among regions and communes.
Cost to do it: 2 UTM per hectare a year, 20 UTM for exotic fish, plus 10 UTM per hectare per idle year.
Example: A 10 hectare salmon site pays 200 UTM a year, CLP 14,430,200; a 10 hectare mussel farm pays 20 UTM, CLP 1,443,020. An idle salmon site with no exemption pays 100 UTM more, CLP 7,215,100, per year of non use. / About US$14,626 for the salmon site, about US$1,463 for the mussel farm and about US$7,313 a year extra if idle.Decreto Nº 430 of 1991, Ley General de Pesca y Acuicultura, Art. 84, 1992-01-21 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Vessel size	Fishing authorisation (UTM per GRT)	Transferable licence (UTM per GRT)
Up to 80 GRT	0.4	0.44
Over 80 up to 100 GRT	0.5	0.55
Over 100 up to 1,200 GRT	1.0	1.1
Over 1,200 GRT	1.5	1.66

Annual fishing patents per gross registered tonne, paid in March (Ley General de Pesca y Acuicultura art. 43 and 43 bis)

Worked example

A Norwegian salmon group sets up a Chilean company and buys three 10 hectare salmon concessions from a local farmer. The concessions are transferable and keep their 25 year term. Each pays 20 UTM per hectare, 600 UTM in total, CLP 43,290,600 or about US$43,879 a year (Ley General de Pesca y Acuicultura art. 69 and 84).
If one site stays idle for more than 54 months without a sanitary rest or other exemption, it pays 100 UTM more for each idle year (CLP 7,215,100, about US$7,313) (art. 84).
A pelagic fishing company with a 1,500 GRT purse seiner holding class A licences pays 2,490 UTM in March (CLP 179,655,990, about US$182,100) and the specific tax in July, and can credit prior year cash contributions to the Fisheries Research Fund (art. 43 to 43 ter).

Step by step

1. Incorporate a Chilean entity to hold fishing authorisations, licences or aquaculture concessions (art. 17 and 71; see entities/choosing-an-entity).
2. Register vessels in Chile under the Navigation Law (art. 14; see sectors/shipping-and-aviation).
3. For aquaculture, check that the site is in an area declared suitable and has no natural beds, then file the technical project and go through environmental assessment where required (art. 67 and 77).
4. Register the concession in the national aquaculture register before starting (art. 69).
5. Pay patents in March (and the class A specific tax in July), and diary the 54 month idle limit for each farm (art. 43 to 43 ter and 84).

Common traps

Signing deals over aquaculture applications before the concession is granted: transfers, leases and preparatory contracts are prohibited (art. 69).
Leaving farms idle: after 54 months each idle year adds 10 UTM per hectare, and long non use can lead to lapse (art. 84 and 142).
Neglecting labour and social security compliance: repeated serious breaches can block renewal of class A licences (art. 26 B).
Using foreign flag vessels for industrial fishing in Chilean waters: they must be registered in Chile (art. 14).

Sources

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