"It is the majesty of nature that reminds us, how fundamental it is to keep the ecosystem in which we work free of any kind of residues," emphasizes the company's founder.
Puerto Gala lies where the Jacaf and Moraleda channels meet, north of Magdalena Island in the municipality of Cisnes, Aysén region. It is a fishing community established in the ’80s following the rush for Chilean abalone, known locally as loco, and later sustained by the hake boom. The settlement’s permanence and stability owe much to Antonio Ronchi, an Italian missionary which drove the first infrastructures that encouraged the development of this community.
It is in that place, also simply called "Gala", composed of the islands Toto, Chita, Antonio Ronchi and Sin Nombre, and which is also located between two national parks (Magdalena and Melimoyu), where the company Gala Tour Austral was created.
"Our goal is to contribute to the economic development of the locality, take care of our ecosystem and carry out sustainable tourism," says its founder, Patricio Maldonado (in the featured photo).
Their statements are based on the fact that, during the year 2021, Gala Tour Austral was hired by the Salmon Industry Association of Chile A.G. (SalmonChile) to carry out the task of beach cleaning in areas of the northern coast of the Aysén region.
Circular economy
The waste collection work requested by the salmon farming industry started with the coordination of Gala Tour Austral. The founder took this task as a development challenge for Puerto Gala and thus, with a team of four workers (artisanal fishermen) plus two small vessels and one larger one - all from the locality - they headed to beaches located nearby to collect waste. plastics coming from the salmon industry and also home.
Once separated by their composition (EPS, HDP and capes), they were transferred to Puerto Chacabuco and received by the company Transportes Sixto, and subsequently directed to the plant Martino Recycling Aysén, who kept at least 70% of the garbage collected and the remaining 30% went to the landfill of Aysén.
“Today, we can say that we have all the experience that our work has given us over the past year and today we seek the continuity of our work and generate new alliances with other companies in the industry or others that are interested in supporting what we do, since in this way we will have new jobs for the town of Puerto Gala and will be contributing to the care of the environment and in specific to our beaches. In addition, the challenge of caring for our ecosystem and its biodiversity is constant and enormous; the levels of pollution of the coastal edge are alarming and became more than evident during the start-up of our tasks,” underlines Patricio Maldonado, who is also a artisanal fisherman and tourist entrepreneur.
In the tourism line, Gala Tour Austral offers since last year a world of experiences that can only be enjoyed through the sea (such as whale watching; trekking to Toto Island; fisherman for a day; night fishing; diving and tasting in situ of marine products; and nautical sports such as sailing, windsurfing and kayaking) for those who want to travel, know and not stop admiring with the beauty of Patagonia.
"It is the majestic nature that reminds us, what is fundamental, to keep the ecosystem in which we work free of waste of all kinds", concludes the helm of the company that today, in addition to fishing and tourism, is dedicated to cleaning beaches in areas where the salmon industry operates.
For more information visit the website www.galatouraustral.cl, type to email contacto@galatouraustral.cl and/or call the phone number +56959909136.
*Photo credits: Gentle Gala Tour Austral.
