Chile renews the extraction ban on native fish for twenty years

The Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism renewed for twenty years the extraction ban on native fish species in the inland waters of the entire national territory, through exempt decree No. 202600181. The extension is effective from October 6, 2026, and was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, number 44,574, on Thursday, October 15, 2026 (CVE 2884902).

The measure was issued by the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture and signed in Valparaíso on October 6, 2026, by the Undersecretary Osvaldo Urrutia Silva. The extract appears in Section I, “Laws, Regulations, Decrees and Resolutions of General Order,” within the General Norms section, on page 1 of the issue.

Scope and validity of the prohibition

The renewed ban maintains the prohibition of extraction in the inland waters of the entire national territory, meaning in continental watercourses and bodies of water, and not in the maritime area.

• Territorial scope: inland waters of the entire national territory.
• Affected species: the native fish species identified in exempt decree No. 878 of 2011, from the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism.
• Term: twenty years starting from October 6, 2026.
• Originating regulation: the ban established by exempt decree No. 878 of 2011, which is now being extended.

The text of the extract does not list the names of the species, but rather refers to those “identified therein” in the 2011 regulation, so the exhaustive list remains that of the original decree.

Publication and access to the full text

Exempt decree No. 202600181 is published as an extract in the Official Gazette, while its full text will be disseminated electronically.

• The full text will be published on the electronic domain sites of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
• It will also be available on the sites of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service.
• The signature of the document corresponds to Undersecretary Osvaldo Urrutia Silva, in Valparaíso, on October 6, 2026.

Recent administrative background

The extension is added to other resolutions from the same body regarding bans during 2026. On August 5, 2026, the Official Gazette published exempt decree No. 202600119, which renewed for two years the extraction ban on the Macha resource in the maritime area of the Maule Region, effective from August 4, 2026. On August 12, 2026, exempt decree No. 202600123 was published, which temporarily suspended the extraction ban on the Besugo resource between parallels 34° and 38°20’ S to allow for a prospecting cruise. Meanwhile, on October 8, 2026, exempt decree No. 202600166 was published, which suspended the biological ban on the Cholga resource in the maritime area of the Los Lagos Region between October 1 and October 15, 2026.

Impact for the sector

The twenty-year renewal consolidates a long-term restriction on the extraction of native fish from inland waters, an activity involving fishers, aquaculturists, and riverside communities from various regions of the country. Given the two-decade timeframe, the regulation provides a stable horizon for the conservation of these species, but also establishes a permanent framework of prohibition for those who depend on their capture. The publication in the Official Gazette on October 15, 2026, marks the beginning of its official dissemination and the availability of the full text on the portals of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,574, Thursday, October 15, 2026, Section I (General Regulations), p. 1 (official reference: CVE 2884902).