The event took place on Wednesday, August 20, at the Diego Rivera Theater in Puerto Montt. During the day, the launch of the Innova Puerto Montt initiative also took place.

With a series of testimonials from representatives of companies supplying Chilean aquaculture, this Wednesday 20 August saw the launch of InnAqua Conference 2025. In the event, held in the Diego Rivera theatre in Puerto Montt, the deputy president of the Chilean Aquaculture Innovation Club, Patricio Bustos, highlighted InnAqua as an event that will be a tremendous contribution to the salmon farming sector, an activity that this year will hold its second in-person edition (the first edition was held online, during the pandemic).

The representative of the Aquaculture Innovation Club highlighted the comparative and competitive advantages of Chile in the area, emphasizing the unique possibility of being able to contribute to the growing demand for quality food with efficient and sustainable solutions.

Immediately, Adolfo Alvial, general coordinator of the InnAqua Conference, highlighted the experience of this year's speakers that the conference is in the final phase of preparation and is progressing as planned. "In this edition, we will bring together experts from seven countries, along with national specialists and representatives from the World Bank. Likewise, within the framework of the conference, a meeting of the International Alliance for Innovation in Aquaculture will be held, an organization that will conduct an interesting workshop in the "regional capital", said the executive.

Keys to success

The second part of the event focused on showing different success stories of four aquaculture entrepreneurs in the area. The exhibitors agreed that the crisis of the ISA virus (year 2007) was a trigger for the search for new solutions for the sector, which triggered a greater investment in innovation by companies in the region.

In the case of Gabriela Vera, CEO of VeHiCe, she told of her experience, highlighting innovation, process automation and the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence as key factors in the growth of the company, which for some has already had an international presence, providing services to countries such as Scotland, Norway, the United States and Canada, as well as clients in Latin America. The representative of the histopathology laboratory he said that the application to different funds of institutions, such as Corfo, has been another key to grow as providers of services for aquaculture not only Chilean, but also global. In conclusion, Vera noted that "innovation is essential to improve productivity and generate well-being for all. Innovation must be seen as well-being."

The second exhibitor of Thursday was Patricio Bustos, general manager of ADL Diagnostic. For the executive, the crisis of the ISA virus was essential in the growth of the company, as it allowed to develop all the creativity and best tools to get out of the bad moment. Bustos emphasized that during that period they managed to keep the professional staff of the company intact, besides indicating that the development of new techniques of diagnostics and patents associated with these. "We have all stumbled, we have fallen, we have risen, and our whole life has been built from slugs. Then, why fear the batons, who are the ones who give us experience and learning," Bustos concluded.

For his part, Cristian Vera, director and founder of GX Consultores, stressed that providing solutions from the same area where his clients perform their operations has been key in consolidating the services of his company.

The representative of the company that provides technological and information technology solutions for the industry, called on those present to take advantage of the skills granted by the fact of living in an area that, from different points of view, presents constant challenges for those who inhabit it, which represents a plus compared to people from other geographical areas of the country. "To innovate, we all have to look to the same common place," Vera concluded.

Finally, Marco Méndez, general manager of Ideal Control, told about the beginnings of his company, highlighting accepting the challenge that his first big client proposed, even assuming the risk of mortgageing a property. However, the confidence in their capabilities, the enthusiasm to take on new goals and the delivery of solutions that generate value, allowed them to grow and expand their company at such a level that today provides monitoring and automation to different sectors, such as aquaculture and mining. In the opinion of the CEO of Ideal Control, it is vital to connect with the client, to know precisely their needs, so "when we really listen, we achieve solutions that connect," Mendez said, concluding that listening, connecting, having conviction and innovating are key to generating successful businesses.

Innaqua Conference

Organized by the Aquaculture Innovation Club of Chile, it is estimated that this new edition of Innaqua, will convene about 450 participants, national and foreign, who will meet between September 2 and 4 to exchange knowledge, experiences and technological advances aimed at strengthening aquaculture, making it more efficient, sustainable and competitive.

The opening of the meeting will be the 2 September at 16:00 at the Port of Empormontt City Linking Center in Puerto Montt, and then give way to the first session of the conference focused on “Trends and Sustainability in Aquaculture”.

For more information, full program review and registration, visit the site www.innaqua.cl/.