Toward sustainable oceans: Redirecting fisheries subsidies through cleaner production in Chile

Fisheries subsidies are often linked to overcapacity, overfishing, and environmental harm. As a result, global efforts have increasingly focused on eliminating harmful subsidies, while paying less attention to how public support can be designed to promote positive environmental outcomes. This study analyzes an alternative paradigm from Chile’s industrial shrimp ( Heterocarpus reedi ) and prawn ( Cervimunida johni and Pleuroncodes monodon ) fisheries, where a government-supported Clean Production Agreement (CPA) incentivized the adoption of cleaner production methods. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative documentary analysis with quantitative evaluation of environmental and economic indicators, we assessed the design, implementation, and outcomes of the CPA. Our findings reveal that the scheme enhanced environmental performance by reducing fuel consumption, bycatch, freshwater use, waste, and air emissions, while simultaneously delivering tangible economic benefits for participating companies. The initiative’s success was driven by four key design features: conditional funding tied to environmental goals, mandatory private co-financing, independent auditing and certification, and collaborative governance involving both public and private sectors. Importantly, subsidies did not cover fuel, fleet expansion, or other activities that could increase fishing capacity, thereby mitigating the risks of overcapacity and greenwashing. The Chilean case demonstrates that well-designed environmental subsidies can effectively support sustainability transitions in fisheries and offers valuable policy lessons for differentiating beneficial subsidies from those that threaten marine sustainability.