Before the blooms arrive, Chile is getting its whole coastline ready

Harmful algal blooms — sudden explosions of microscopic algae that can poison seafood and shut down fishing — tend to arrive with warm seasons, and Chile is not waiting to be surprised. On October 19, officials from the interior, defence, environment and health ministries met at La Moneda palace in Santiago to tighten coordination ahead of the 2026–27 season, when El Niño may stir coastal waters. 'We cannot wait for a contingency to occur before beginning to coordinate our efforts,' said fisheries undersecretary Osvaldo Urrutia. 'Prevention is fundamental.' It is the unglamorous kind of good news: the meeting before the emergency, so the emergency does less harm.

SDG 14 · Life below water — Mechanism: institutional program