South America

Our goal to raise $20K in May for Patagonia is within our grasp.

Speaking before the Chilean Congress on Wednesday, President Michelle Bachelet announced plans to ban all whaling activity in Chilean waters.

Oceana has ambitious plans to protect one of nature's most biologically rich places, Chilean Patagonia.

Let's talk for a moment about shark finning.

This is the process in which humans catch sharks, cut off their fins -- while the sharks are still alive, mind you, because that supposedly makes the fins more potent as aphrodesiacs -- and then throw the sharks back into the ocean.

It's a brutal and ugly practice. And yet, in some parts of the world it's still completely legal.

One of these places is Chile, where our South American campaign team is headquartered. (Before we Americans get to feeling all superior, keep in mind that the US only got around to banning the practice in American waters in 2000.)

Our Chilean team recently captured local shark finning on video; you can watch the movie here. This footage has gotten national coverage in Chile and helped focus the country's attention on the problem.

Now it's time to take the next step. We've made it a priority to get this barbaric practice banned in Chile. But to do that, we need your help. Our goal to raise $15,000 by the end of August to launch a campaign in Chile with the aim of banning shark finning there. Generous donations from people around the world have raised nearly $8,000 towards this goal so far this month.

Now we need your help to raise the last $7,000 and put a stop to shark finning in Chile!

• Contribute to our campaign to stop shark finning in Chile

And if you've already contributed -- thank you! -- or can't afford to make a contribution right now, here are some other ways you can help us reach our goal:

• Tell a friend. Help us spread the word about this drive -- send this post to a friend!
• Blog about it. Do you have a blog of your own? Write a post about our drive to stop shark finning in Chile and help us get the word around the Internet!

It's time for shark finning to be banned in Chile so we don't ever see pictures like the ones in that video again. We can make it happen -- but only with your support. Stand with us by contributing today. Thanks!

The arrival of Chilean salmon in thousands of fast food restaurants in USA could be a reality. The main producer of this resource in Chile, AquaChile, is interested in creating strategic alliances to gain access to this coveted market.

"A salmon hamburger.....why not?" says AquaChile President, Víctor Hugo Puchi. He remember the international conference AquaVisión 2004, which took place in Stavanger, Norway, last year, where potential salmon consumption  in US market, had been established.

Therefore, AquaChile is open to establishing alliances with others salmon companies and to sharing distribution channels in those markets. In fact, there have already been some conversations about it. US consumers' concern about obesity has forced fast food chains to extend their offerings of healthier products.

Puchi recognizes that, until today, there have not been initiatives from Chilean salmon companies to fill this place in the market.

"We have not taken this opportunity before, because we had not have enough size as an industry and nobody felt able to [fulfill the needs of] a big food chain like McDonald's", said the salmon businessman.

However, the industry today sells more than USD 1,300 million annually, bringing forward winds of change.

Puchi says that, today, some products like salmon steaks are being offered to US consumers, and that the following step would be to move to ready-to-serve meals.

Great news! The Chilean Congress has ratified the Protocol of the Galapagos Agreement (for conservation of living marine resources on the high seas of the Southeast Pacific). Parties to the Agreement were initially, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile. This agreement might potentially extend within the region if ratified by all member states. Last year, Oceana's South America office encouraged and prompted the Government towards obtaining the ratification of this treaty from the Chilean Congress.