The Rise of Mussel Aquaculture in Chile: Causes, Effects, and Challenges

More than 90% of global mussel production comes from aquaculture. Like many other species within aquaculture, its production has been steadily growing for the last 30 years. Chilean production has increased from about 2000 tons in the early 1990s to 400,000 tons in 2020, making Chile the second-biggest producer globally, next to China. In this article, we study how the “mussel miracle” was forged, that is, how the Chilean mussel industry was able to transition from exporting negligible volumes of mussels to becoming the world's biggest exporter of mussels. We also analyze the impacts of this expansion on environmental, economic, and social conditions, as well as the challenges the industry faces. We use semistructured interviews conducted with different key informants in the Los Lagos region in southern Chile, where almost all Chilean mussel production is based. We also review the existing literature and analyze Aquaculture Performance Indicators (APIs) data recently collected to assess the performance of aquaculture production systems in the country. The Chilean mussel industry's rapid growth during 1994–1996 was enabled by natural conditions in the Los Lagos region, aquaculture research, and trade liberalization. Investments by foreign and domestic stakeholders further boosted production and exports. The industry has provided significant environmental benefits, such as mitigating eutrophication, and created over 12,000 jobs in coastal communities. However, reliance on natural seed banks and extensive production methods poses sustainability challenges, particularly under climate change.