Egg&Smolt® 2.2

U.S. Salmon Digest
Volume 2, Issue 2
Fall 1989

Coho in Chile: An interview with Jon Lindbergh

E&S - Jon, you were involved in the introduction of aquaculture to Chile. Tell us why coho salmon were chosen for development there.

Lindbergh - The first attempt to bring salmon into Chile was in the early part of the century, when Atlantic salmon were introduced into Chile's lake district. They were able to establish a sustaining run, with hatchery support, for about ten years. Then it died out. Starting runs of Atlantics outside their native areas has been difficult.

The next attempt was in the sixties, when the University of Washington, in conjunction with Chilean groups, tried to start coho and chinook in a ranching program. They never got any confirmed returns, but there were a lot of false alarms that were usually sea-run brown trout. I was first involved in Chile with Domsea Farms, in a project to develop ocean ranching in Chile. Chile seemed to have the best opportunity for ranching projects because the area is similar in climate, oceanographic aspects, and latitude to the Pacific Northwest. We brought both coho and chinook to the Chiloe area in1975. We got different strains of coho easily; a variety of chinook strains was more difficult to find. We took down two or three strains, primarily Cowlitz Spring Chinook. Few coho returned we got about eleven the first year, which amounted to about one tenth of one percent. The fish probably got into the southern currents and got lost. You see, the environmental signposts that salmon rely on to orient themselves are quite different in the southern hemisphere. The nearest land west of Chile is New Zealand, and if fish get down into the Antarctic currents they could just go around and around the Antarctic continent.

E&S - Are you saying that coho are genetically fixed to function in the northern hemisphere?

Lindbergh - No. Coho and Chinook tend to respond to currents and some broad genetic programming. A real hardwired fish is the chum. If you take a west coast chum to the east coast of North America and turn it loose, you'll never see it again. They just keep trying to go where their ancestors have gone. Consider what happened with the Russian chum that Oreaqua released in Newport, Oregon. They released ten million and got about seven back! The Japanese had a similar rate of return when they tried to develop a run of chum in Chiloe. They released large numbers starting in 1974, and the only full sized chum they ever saw again were a few that came into one of the Fundacion Chile hatcheries five hundred miles south of where they were released.

E&S - Why were coho finally selected for development, rather than chinook?

Lindbergh - Well Chinook actually worked better in the Chiloe ranching program, but they are more difficult to farm in net pens. At first no one understood how to raise Atlantics in Chile, so everyone tended to take the easiest fish, which is definitely the coho. The Japanese started; they prefer coho in any event. Mares Australes and Salmones Antarctica did the same. Domsea Pesquera Chile, where Ken Blackburn was the first manager, was purchased by Fundacion Chile, which established the division called Salmones Antarctica. Another reason we chose coho is that you can harvest coho as they reach full size during the southern hemisphere summer, just before maturation, and fit them into the northern hemisphere winter markets. During the northern winter, there is little wild catch available, so Chilean coho are ready to sell at maximum size when there is little competition from other species, either farmed or wild.

E&S - Where do you get your eggs?

Lindbergh - Although Chile is developing its own broodstock, about 80% of the eggs for Chilean coho are foreign imports from Washington, Oregon and Canada.

E&S - What future developments do you see for Chile?

Lindbergh - About four years ago we looked seriously at Atlantics. They grow extremely well there, but the freshwater aquaculture techniques require some experience, and the industry had some trouble. With Atlantics, you have an extra year to keep them in salt water, before substantial numbers begin to mature. Selling Atlantic salmon gives you both a larger fish and a shot at the East Coast market, which is now serviced primarily by the Norwegians, Scotland, other European producers, and the Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia producers. I think that over the next three or four years, Atlantics may come to dominate Chilean aquaculture.

E&S - Are Atlantics more difficult to raise than coho?

Lindbergh - In freshwater this is true. In saltwater it may be easier to raise Atlantics than coho. Another factor is that the Tenth Region of Chile has had an outbreak of a new disease that affects only coho, so some farms in that area may switch to another species.

E&S - Have all the farm sites been licensed?

Lindberg - In the Chiloe area, the easily accessible sites have been licensed. In the more remote areas they haven't. Some of these areas will need much more sophisticated logistics than are presently available. There are roughly one thousand miles of fjord and coastline, and only about 200 miles of that have been moderately exploited. Most of the farms are still in the tenth region, which includes Chiloe and Porto Montt.

E&S - How supportive do you find the Chilean government?

Lindbergh - Quite supportive. They don't provide financial support, but they do make the permitting process straightforward.

E&S - Where else do you think coho should be tried?

Lindbergh - Japan has done fairly well. Argentina has some possible rearing areas, but the potential is small compared to Chile. Neither Australia nor New Zealand will allow the import of live, fresh, or frozen product because of concerns about disease. They will admit a new stock or species if it can be held in quarantine for a full generation. New Zealand should probably start Atlantics, though, rather than coho. So I'd say that Argentina is the best possibility for further farming of coho.

E&S - How would you sum up the advantages of coho?

Lindberg - I'd make several points. Coho have a strong, reddish flesh that is very appealing to some markets, especially to Japan. Coho reared in the southern hemisphere can be harvested at a time when there is little fresh salmon on the market in the northern hemisphere: this is a big advantage. The eggs and smolts are inexpensive; they are easy to rear to smolts; and the fry are more resistant to silt and gill problems than Atlantics. Coho also grow on less expensive feed, and in several areas they have proven more resistant to plankton blooms. They'll also tolerate a higher pen-density than chinook, although not as high a density as Atlantics. They are a very good fish for a country that is just developing aquaculture.



Market developments for farmed coho
Coho has the longest marketing history among the farmed Pacific salmons. In the early 1960's Domsea Farms, founded by Jon Lindbergh, spearheaded the marketing of pan size farmed coho. This original farmed salmon from the Pacific coast, also referred to as Baby Coho, was designed as a portion controlled product between 7 and 9 oz. The marketing concept focused on the creation of a product distinctly different from both the wild coho and the farmed rainbow trout. This distinction was achieved by the product's controlled size, pink flesh, and silver skin. This strategy proved fairly successful in that it created a new market, which now consumes approximately 4.0 million pounds on an annual basis, returning $3.00-3.50 per pound to the farmer for a boned product. Both this price and the volume have remained fairly constant over the last 10 years, thus providing a sense of stability to the farmers but without returning the top price, which the large, farmed Atlantic salmon has received during the last few years.

The higher price of the farmed Atlantic prompted British Columbian salmon farmers in the mid 80's to venture into growing large coho in ocean net pens. The result in the market was somewhat disappointing. The farmed coho received prices on the average $0.50 per pound below an equivalent-sized Atlantic salmon. Though the price in absolute terms was higher than that of the pan size product, the problem of early maturation reduced the economic incentive to pursue ocean coho farming in North America.

North America's lackluster results with farming coho were not repeated in the southern hemisphere. The Chilean salmon farmers were able to build a successful industry by farming coho salmon raised from imported eyed eggs. These imported eyed coho eggs from the Northern Hemisphere produce a large size coho, which then can be marketed off-season from the Pacific wild catch.

A similar success in raising and marketing coho was achieved in Japan. There the farmers are able to grow a 3-4 kg coho in 18 months from hatching and market the fish in the $3-4 per pound range. The reasons for the Japanese success include high local demand for the fish and a high inventory turnover due to high water temperatures.



Coho salmon a la Chiloe
Ken Blackburn, AquaSeed's agent in Chile, shared this distinctively Chilean recipe with Egg&Smolt. It's named for the island where coho were first introduced to South America.

Start with a cleaned, four-pound coho salmon, with the head and tail off. Split the salmon in a butterfly cut and place it skin down on a baking sheet. Next prepare a savory paste by blending together- in a blender or food mixer- one medium onion, one cup of parsley, a quarter pound of butter, and a dash each of salt and pepper. Rub the paste into the salmon, then bake in a hot oven (400 degrees) until the spine can just be pulled loose from the flesh.

For a real Chilean treat, serve the salmon with potatoe fritters, a good dry Chilean white wine, and tangy Chilean Salad.

Chilean Salad! Toss four large sliced tomatoes and one or two thinly sliced medium onions. White onions are best, but bermuda or yellow onions will do fine. Dress with a sprinkling of fresh, chopped cilantro - about a quarter cup full. If cilantro is not available or not to your taste, parsley or garden-fresh basil can be substituted.

Ingredients:

Coho Salmon a la Chiloe
four pound salmon
one medium onion
one cup chopped parsley
one stick butter (1/4 lb)
salt and pepper to taste

Chilean Salad
four large tomatoes
two white onions
1/4 cup fresh, chopped
cilantro (coriander) or parsley or basil.