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imagen de Dr. José Aguilar Manjarrez

Dr. José Aguilar Manjarrez

Aquaculture Officer
FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

José Aguilar Manjarrez holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Aquaculture from the University of Stirling (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), a Diploma in Financial Aquaculture from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), Mexico, and a B.Sc. in Oceanography from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), Mexico. Since joining the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1996 at its headquarters in Rome, Italy, he has played a strategic role in designing and implementing innovative initiatives for sustainable aquaculture development in more than 45 countries worldwide. His work focuses on spatial planning and management, including aquaculture zoning, site selection and management areas, carrying capacity assessment, the ecosystem approach to aquaculture, climate change adaptation, offshore mariculture, macroalgae farming, and disaster risk management. He has significantly contributed to technical knowledge generation and public policy design, coordinating and authoring over 50 FAO technical publications and numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles. In June 2019, he assumed the position of Fisheries and Aquaculture Officer at the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Santiago, Chile, where he continues to advance technical, regulatory, and strategic solutions aimed at strengthening the sustainability, resilience, and competitiveness of the aquaculture sector across the region.

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Jorge Torres

Business Development Director LATAM & NA
Veramaris

imagen de Ricardo García Holtz

Ricardo García Holtz

CEO
Camanchaca

Senior executive and current leader of Camanchaca, one of Chile’s leading seafood and aquaculture companies. With extensive experience in corporate management, he has led modernization processes, international expansion, and financial strengthening initiatives within the seafood industry. His leadership combines strategic vision, operational discipline, and a strong focus on sustainability and long-term value creation.

imagen de Dr. Baltasar García

Dr. Baltasar García

Senior Geneticist
BENCHMARK GENETICS CHILE

Geneticist specialized in aquaculture breeding programs. He holds a Ph.D. in Genetics and Animal Breeding from São Paulo State University (UNESP), with a focus on applied genomics in selection programs. He has extensive experience leading and optimizing genomic selection strategies to enhance productivity, product quality, and sustainability in aquaculture.

imagen de Dra. Jessica Fuentes

Dra. Jessica Fuentes

Attorney-at-law
Acuiestudios

Attorney-at-law, Ph.D. in Law and Master’s in Public Law from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Professor of Constitutional Law since 2006, with published books and articles in specialized legal journals. She has held senior legal positions within Chile’s fisheries and aquaculture institutions, including Head of the Legal Division at the Undersecretariat for Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) and Deputy Legal Director at the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca). She has actively contributed to the drafting and implementation of fisheries and aquaculture legislation and has represented Chile in national and international forums.