Salmon Council and partner companies reinforce their commitment to safety and health in diving

The sector, representing the producer companies AquaChile, Australis, Cermaq, Mowi, Salmones Aysén and Ventisqueros, participated in the first session of the National Working Group on Occupational Safety and Health in Diving in Salmon Farming, highlighting the contribution of the producer companies to a public-private agenda focused on prevention, training and strengthening of safety standards.

The Salmon Council, along with representatives from its six partner companies, participated on Monday 19 October in the first session of the National Working Group on Occupational Safety and Health in Salmon Farming, an initiative convened by the Undersecretary of Labour, Gustavo Rosende, and the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Osvaldo Urrutia, to advance a shared agenda on occupational safety and health.

The event brought together representatives of public agencies, producing companies, trade associations, unions and worker organizations, as well as parliamentarians and representatives of the Maritime Authority, with the purpose of building a common diagnosis and advancing a roadmap that contributes to the strengthening of occupational safety and health in diving.

In representation of the Salmon Council, its Executive President Loreto Seguel; its Regional Director of Los Lagos, Ángela Saavedra; and its Director of Studies, Alejandra Bustamante, along with representatives from the six partner companies, including the teams leading the occupational safety and health matters, participated. Their participation reflects the importance that the sector and its companies attribute to joint work and the development of solutions with a long-term vision.

The presence of our six partner companies, along with the teams leading occupational safety and health, reflects the importance of this issue for our industry and for the board of the Salmon Council. We are convinced that the knowledge and experience of the producing companies must be at the service of a common purpose, which is to continue strengthening the safety and well-being of those develop this work. This is a task we have been building for years and that requires adding capabilities, listening to the different realities and advancing with technical rigor together with the authorities and workers. That is the value of this first table, to build solutions that go beyond each actor and contribute to the common good," said Loreto Seguel, Executive President of the Salmon Council.

A public-private work agenda for occupational safety

The participation in this first panel continues an agenda that the Salmon Council and its partner companies have been developing for years in terms of prevention, training and strengthening of safety standards in salmon farming, through dialogue and coordination with various public and private actors.

Among the background of this work, the collaboration developed together with ChileValora since 2024 stands out, whose work allowed progress in the recognition of labor competency profiles such as aquaculture diver and remote operated vehicle (ROV) operator. This initiative has contributed to highlighting the knowledge and career paths of workers, creating a basis for continuing to promote their training, perfecting and new opportunities for specialization and labor retraining.

During the first session, the available background on diving in salmon farming, the methodological work proposal and the identification of priority topics that will guide the next meetings were addressed.

The installation of this space allows to project a shared agenda that integrates the experience of the producing companies, the knowledge of the workers and the capabilities of the public institutions, with a focus on prevention, occupational health and the continuous improvement of safety standards.

In this way, the Salmon Council and its partner companies continue their participation in a public-private collaboration agenda, contributing their capabilities and experience in service of a shared purpose, to continue strengthening the safety and well-being of workers as an essential part of the development of Chilean salmon farming.