With the sun coming through the clouds, the Zapallar’s cove was filled with life and colors to celebrate the second year of existence of the Zapallar TURF-Reserve, a conservation area located inside the Territorial User Rights for Fisheries (TURF or AMERB, as abbreviated in Spanish) managed by the Zapallar Artisanal Fishers Union.

Among the first programmed activities at the event, that happened within a relaxed and familiar environment, some open water swimming groups from different localities of the area were able to swim in the bay, a tour that could also be done by other people aboard kayaks.

Throughout the afternoon, various stands set up at the Zapallar cove were visited by both residents and tourists, who were able to learn firsthand about the work carried out by local environmental organizations, including the Lontra Foundation and Capital Azul Foundation. The latter has been working since 2016 alongside different artisanal fisher’s unions in the Valparaíso region to establish TURF-Reserves through a program that contemplates elements such as biodiversity monitoring, environmental education and support in coastal surveillance.

At the end of the day, a wine tasting was held by La Playa Wines, just before projecting a series of films, for around a hundred people, specially prepared for the occasion, which showed the work that the Capital Azul Foundation and five unions of artisanal fishers from the Valparaíso region are doing, not only for the conservation and restoration of the degraded coastal marine ecosystems of central Chile, but also to improve the livelihood and resilience of coastal communities. 

“It is exciting to see how this idea of the TURF-Reserve is becoming part of the Zapallar community. In these celebrations families come together, some artists show their work, swimmers swim, all focused on an idea of conservation of the territory which they themselves inhabit, and that even the authorities of the community are celebrating together with the fishers and all the actors and members of this community. I believe that this speaks of a work that has been done in a robust way by the artisanal fishers, and I hope that in the medium to long-term more people become involved and value the importance of conserving and caring for these TURF-Reserves. Hopefully these celebrations will become part of the Zapallarian identity”, explained Rodrigo Sánchez Grez, Executive Director of Capital Azul Foundation.

After its inauguration in December 2021, each year this celebration gains more strength, demonstrating the relevance of continuing to involve the community around the TURF-Reserve to raise awareness about the importance of taking care of this place intended for conservation, among all of us, and which has the artisanal fishers of Zapallar as its main caretakers. 

“The impact of the TURF-Reserves that Capital Azul develops with the support of the BHP Foundation does not only involve what happens at the bottom of the sea. This project works side by side with the communities in the implementation of actions to combine restoration and the use of the marine-coastal resources, which is important to safeguard its future, that is also the future of everyone at the cove. This was also a double celebration, due to the passing of the law that recognizes the TURF-Reserves under the figure of ‘voluntary protection areas’, which will have research, conservation and sustainability improvement purposes. It’s very exciting to see the whole community committed to the project”, stated Alejandra Garcés, director of the Chile Program of BHP Foundation.

“The community that gathered here is the true protagonist in generating change that will remain for future generations, which is precisely the conservation of the coastal area through the Zapallar’s cove TURF-Reserve. In this activity we participated as La Playa Wines,  a winery with purpose that allocates part of the funds we obtain from the sale of wines, to Capital Azul so that, together with the artisanal fishers unions, they can carry out this type of initiatives. It was an extraordinary event”, added Nicolás Sutil, president of Top Wine Group. 

After the film viewings and the awards to those who participate regularly of the Municipal Diving school, we opened spaces for dialogue around the traditional warm crackling bonfire of the Zapallar cove. There, in the heat of the fire, the fishers prepared a “carbonada de lapa” (limpet stew) to share with the whole community. This community feast demonstrated that little by little it is becoming a relevant highlight in the summer activities of Zapallar, emphasizing the role that artisanal fishing can play in marine conservation and strengthening of the social fabric.