Chilean government requests resignation of Sernapesca national director; 2027 budget proposes cutting environmental inspection funding

This month the Chilean government formally requested the voluntary resignation of María Soledad Tapia, national director of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca), who will leave office on October 31. The government did not publicly explain the specific reasons for requesting her departure. Tapia served at Sernapesca for more than 17 years; before being appointed head of the agency in 2023, she served as regional director for Valparaíso and Tarapacá, deputy director of fisheries, head of human resources, and director of the agency's school of supervision and inspection.

Tapia's tenure at the helm of Sernapesca broadly coincided with the four-year term that Gabriel Boric began in 2022. During his time in office, Boric repeatedly questioned the environmental sustainability of Chile's salmon farming industry and said he was considering a moratorium on the sector and halting its expansion. Against this backdrop, Sernapesca under Tapia made inspection, sanitary monitoring, environmental emergency management and public institutional coordination priorities. In 2025, the agency reported carrying out 4,962 inspection operations at 2,473 operating aquaculture centers, identifying 258 violations; its dedicated inspection program for aquaculture in protected wild areas carried out 926 operations at 316 operating centers, recording 133 environmental violations.

At the time, critics complained that the government's environmental controls were excessive, saying salmon farming was the most audited industry in Chile. Data show that in 2020 there were only 6 government inspections of salmon farming operations, rising to 1,802 in 2023, with penalties imposed in only 1.8% of cases.

Pablo Ortiz, formerly Sernapesca's deputy director of fisheries, has taken over as acting national director, leading the agency until a public selection process determines a permanent successor. Ortiz said Chile has a solid and committed technical team nationwide, and that the agency will focus on continuing and advancing the service's strategic priorities, ensuring close, rigorous and transparent territorial management for users.

The personnel change came almost simultaneously with the government's submission of its 2027 budget proposal. The government's overall budget for next year increases by only 1%, but funding for the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) would rise by more than 36% if approved, and Sernapesca would also receive additional resources. Subpesca's allocation would increase from 37.8 billion pesos (US$38.4 million, €34.2 million) in 2026 to 52.9 billion pesos (US$53.8 million, €47.8 million) in 2027, with the task of simplifying procedures and improving departmental authorization management. Sernapesca's increased budget will be used for inspection equipment, and its 2027 goals include expanding the digitalization of procedures and narrowing compliance gaps in aquaculture.

Meanwhile, according to the online publication El Maipo, the Environmental Superintendency's (SMA) environmental inspection program faces a 19.2% real-terms funding cut and will eliminate 14 formal SMA positions and another 2 informal positions. Other environmental programs also face cuts: funding for sustainable development programs will fall from 8.11 billion pesos (US$8.2 million, €7.3 million) to 4.56 billion pesos (US$4.6 million, €4.1 million), and the environmental protection fund will be reduced by 29.4%.

The budget proposal also includes 514 million pesos (US$522,000, €465,000) for indigenous consultations related to the Lafkenche Law reform. The law regulates indigenous coastal marine areas, and Kast has been critical of it, saying it is improperly used to hinder salmon farming development, consistent with complaints the aquaculture industry has made for years.

Amid the aquaculture industry's demands for predictable regulatory requirements, efficient procedures and consistent enforcement, the next permanent director will lead the agency. Cristián Arancibia, president of the Biobío Regional Federation of Artisanal Fishermen (Ferepa Biobío), also told the Concepción daily newspaper that artisanal fishing representatives are calling for improvements in the agency's operations, seeking better inspection processes, stronger control of fishing operations, strengthened traceability infrastructure and more transparent and reliable records, and calling for a stronger crackdown on illegal fishing, fair treatment for all participants, and emphasis on dialogue with local organizations and understanding of regional conditions.