Different authorities of the public sector and public and state institutions of both countries participated at the launch of the initiative which could benefit large part of the coastal sector in the south of Chile with its results.

The Universidad de La Frontera is going to lead this unique research project, which will bring academics, institutions and companies of the private sector in Chile and Japan together, during the next five years.

It is an initiative for the development of a red tide early alert system that allows to monitor, predict and detect the blooming of red tide in the south of Chile. The project is financed by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

This ambitious research project will be led by the Universidad de La Frontera in Chile. The institution will be the executing entity and will coordinate the work of the different parties that are involved.

“Nowadays, researchers cannot work alone. Associativity and internationalization are the right way forward. The project we are launching has the following particularities: it brings science to the people and the reality of the environment, with a strong social aspect that improves the life quality of the people,” Dr. Eduardo Hebel, the rector of the university, indicated at the official launching ceremony for the project that took place in the Metropolitan Region of Chile.

One of the participants in the ceremony was the Japanese Ambassador in Chile, José Hiraishi, who said: “We have been supporting Chile for several years in our country, with the aim of improving the quality of the fishes´ life and of the productive development. As an example, since the 70s, we have been financing different projects across the country that have brought direct benefits for the coastal sectors, what makes us very happy.”

Authorities of the Chilean Undersecretariat for Fisheries and Aquaculture (SUBPESCA), the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA) and the Ministry of Health (MINSAL) participated in the launching ceremony. Also researchers of the Chilean Universities of Antofagasta and Los Lagos are going to work in the development of the project.

COORDINATION

Dr. Milko Jorquera, an UFRO academic, will lead the project and coordinate the work of the different institutions, and the universities´ and public and private organisms´ research teams.
“The main focus of this project is the community, the Chilean society, and therein, there are the artisanal fishermen, producers, consumers, etc. The essential point is to give a solution to a common problem for all those people and from the same point of view,” Dr. Milko Jorquera affirmed.

Dr. Fumito Maruyama, an academic of the Kyoto University in Japan, is the one who is going to play an important role in the development of the project, permitting to coordinate and consolidate the work of the different participants and organizations in Japan.

“I feel that this project directly benefits the local people, having in mind that it is an initiative of the public, academic and industrial sector. I suppose that, at the end of the project, its results will help the local population, the fishing and artisanal sector, and the entities of the southern coastal sector,” he said.

At the end of 2016, the bloom of the red tide caused an estimated loss of 800 million USD in Chile, when the authorities declared the coastal area of the Los Lagos Region a catastrophe zone.