Thousands of tiny Chilean flounder fries were born in captivity for the first time in Argentina’s Marine Culture Experimental Station at that country’s National Institute of Fishery Research and Development. A similar pilot program was undertaken in Chile in 1993 with 8000 fish under the auspices of the Fundacion Chile and Andres Bello National University.

The Argentine program is part of a 1999 technology transfer agreement over the production of Chilean flounder and Alfonsino (red bream) made by Argentina’s Agriculture, Livestock, Fishery Secretary and the Japanese Oversees Fishery Co-operation Foundation.

Production of the fish to a market size of approximately one kilogram will follow a carefully prepared set of guidelines including feed made of micro-algae and tiny crustaceans. The full cycle from fry to commercial maturity will take 18-months. The current facility is capable of holding 10,000 20mm long juveniles, 5000 100mm fish, and 1000 flounder weighing one kilogram.

Current market price for whole gutted fresh and frozen flounder fillets average between US$13 and $20 per kilogram. The main export markets for the fish are Japan, the United States and Brazil.