Diving on salmon farms: the work, the pay and the risks

The country's largest employer of divers, in an industry that doesn't employ them directly

If you ask any shellfish diver in Los Lagos, Aysén or Magallanes where they got their first paid job, the most likely answer is "on a salmon farm". Not because it's the best-paid or most sought-after work in the trade —that tends to be offshore saturation diving, which barely exists in Chile as an industry of its own—, but because it is, by a wide margin, the work that offers the most diving hours a year. The salmon industry needs divers every day, at dozens of farm sites scattered across the fjords and channels of the south, and that constant demand is the real entry point into the trade for most people who get licensed.

But there's a key phrase in the previous paragraph: the industry needs divers, it doesn't employ divers. Almost no one who dives in a salmon cage has a contract with the salmon farm that owns the site. In the vast majority of cases, the work is done through a diving contracting company that invoices the salmon farm and pays —or in turn subcontracts— the divers. That chain of intermediation is the key to understanding both how you get work and why this line of work concentrates much of the trade's serious accident record in Chile.

This article tries to do both things at once: explain what the work is really like and how you get into it, and put the safety data in front of you without softening it. If you're going to decide to do this, you deserve both halves of the information.

What a diver does at a farm site

A salmon farm site is, essentially, a set of floating cages anchored to the seabed by a mooring system, with nets that contain the fish and outer predator nets that protect them from sea lions and other predators. Almost all the underwater maintenance of that structure is done by a diver, because there's no other practical way to inspect or repair something several metres deep and constantly moving with the current.

The most common operations

The work varies by site, time of year, and whether there are events such as algal blooms or storms, but there's a core set of tasks that repeats on most working days:

None of this resembles recreational or scientific diving. It's physical, repetitive work, almost always with semi-autonomous equipment and often in cold water, with current and reduced visibility. The licence that authorises you to work in these operations is the Basic or Intermediate Shellfish Diver licence, depending on the type of equipment and the complexity of the task.

Where the work is: the three regions of aquaculture diving

Chile's salmon industry is concentrated in three regions, and with it the bulk of the demand for divers: Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes. Puerto Montt is by far the most important logistics and hiring hub —most contracting companies' offices and several diving schools are based there—, but the actual work happens offshore, at sites scattered across the fjords of Chiloé, Aysén and the far south, with shifts that are usually on-board rotations rather than a daily commute.

This has a practical consequence for anyone just starting out: getting your first contract almost always means being available to relocate, accepting shifts of several weeks on board in a row, and, often, working far from where you live the rest of the year.

How hiring works: the subcontracting chain

Here's the crux of the matter. Salmon farms —the companies that own the farm sites— almost never hire divers directly. They hire a commercial diving company, which takes on the underwater operations at one or several sites. That contracting company is the one that, in turn, hires —or subcontracts— the divers who go into the water.

Ecoceanos's own report on the January 2026 deaths notes that most of the workers who died were operating under subcontracting, and the case of Manuel Esteban Matus Caamaño, the 29-year-old diver who died on 8 January 2026 working for the "Martita" farm site run by Australis Mar, is a direct example: he was subcontracted through the company DM Services, not a direct employee of the salmon farm.

Why does this matter to someone thinking about entering the trade? Because the subcontracting chain dilutes responsibility for safety. The salmon farm demands results and deadlines from the contractor; the contractor, in turn, pushes to meet those deadlines with the equipment and staff it has available. When something fails —a poorly maintained vessel, a dive without adequate surface backup—, it isn't always clear whose obligation it was to prevent it. Ley 21.789 (Chile's diving law) was written, in part, to try to close that gap; what actually changes is explained below.

For anyone newly licensed, the practical point is this: you'll almost always be working for a contracting company, not for the salmon brand you recognise at the supermarket. It's worth knowing the real name of whoever is hiring you, what insurance they hold for divers, and whether the same company will be with you in the water or whether it in turn subcontracts you. The directory of commercial diving companies in Chile is a good starting point for comparing who operates in each area.

Safety, with data: what DIRECTEMAR says and what the press says

This section isn't here to scare anyone with adjectives. It's the information anyone considering diving on a salmon farm should have before deciding, in the exact terms the sources report it.

According to DIRECTEMAR, 274 diver accidents were recorded at salmon farm sites between 2004 and 2026, of which 49 ended in the worker's death. That's the official figure, from the maritime authority that oversees professional diving in Chile.

Apart from that official figure, Centro Ecoceanos —through its director, Juan Carlos Cárdenas— has documented 90 workers killed in activities linked to the salmon farming industry over the last twelve years (2013-2026), noting that most were working under subcontracting. This is a figure from journalistic investigation and civil-society organisation, not an official statistical register, and so it should be presented as what it is: an estimate, not closed administrative data. The difference from DIRECTEMAR's number is probably explained by the fact that Ecoceanos also counts deaths of crew on transport and support vessels, not only divers underwater.

January 2026: a month of concentrated deaths

Ecoceanos documented seven deaths in a single month, January 2026, in activities linked to the salmon farming industry:

• On 8 January 2026, Manuel Esteban Matus Caamaño, aged 29, died while diving at the "Martita" farm site run by Australis Mar, near Melinka, in the Aysén region. He was subcontracted through the company DM Services.
• On 28 January 2026, the catamaran "Koñimó I" sank in the Reloncaví fjord, in the Los Lagos region, killing six crew members, none of whom was wearing a life jacket. The vessel belonged to the contractor Agua Santa and was working for Salmones Austral and Trusal.

Ecoceanos also reports that, between 2013 and 2026, 14 transport vessels linked to the industry sank, with around 30 crew deaths in total. These vessels aren't diving boats as such, but they form part of the same logistics ecosystem —transporting staff and fish between sites— in which divers work, and they help explain why the sector accumulates so much maritime accident risk, not only underwater.

The case of Katherine Pérez Moraga

Not every documented death happens on a salmon farm. Katherine Pérez Moraga, aged 30, died on 22 August 2022 diving at around 30 metres in Alberto de Agostini National Park, near Punta Arenas, with equipment rated only to 20 metres. She is mentioned here because, together with the salmon farm cases, she is part of the body of cases the press and sector organisations cite when discussing the safety of professional diving in southern Chile, and because her name deserves to be said, not diluted into a figure.

Dysbaric osteonecrosis: a warning sign with no public figure

Besides acute accidents, dysbaric osteonecrosis —bone damage associated with inadequate and repeated decompression— has been flagged as a problem present among divers on salmon farms, mentioned by the specialist press. It's important to be precise here: there is no public prevalence data, meaning there is no official figure for how many divers have it or have developed it. It's mentioned as a documented concern in the sector, not as a settled statistic, and any percentage figure you see circulating on this has no backing in a verifiable public source.

Timeline of the documented accident record

Source: Ecoceanos, March 2026. ecoceanos.cl

Pay: what's paid and what can't be promised

There's no specific official figure for "salmon farm diver" as a separate category. The most solid reference available is WageIndicator / Tusalario Chile's 2026 projection, which gives a general range for divers between CLP 755,051 and CLP 1,470,366 a month: starting out, between CLP 755,051 and CLP 1,187,083, and after five years of service, between CLP 817,538 and CLP 1,492,555, on a 44-hour working week.

As a single data point, not a market average, a job posting published by STS Chile for a Commercial Diving Supervisor listed a gross salary of CLP 2,425,000 plus a taxable bonus. It's one job listing, for a supervisory role, not the average earned by a newly licensed shellfish diver.

For the full detail on ranges, seniority and what variables move pay, check how much a commercial diver earns in Chile.

How to get in: licence, school and first contract

To work legally as a diver at a farm site you need a DIRECTEMAR licence, typically Basic or Intermediate Shellfish Diver depending on the type of equipment you'll be operating. The general requirements are: 18 years old for commercial diver and specialist (the basic shellfish diver category has no explicit age floor of its own — check the detail in the specific guide), completed primary education for the basic level and a secondary-school certificate or its technical-professional equivalent for intermediate and above, plus a medical fitness certificate —valid for only 30 days from issue for submission—, an AFP (pension fund) certificate, a criminal record certificate, up-to-date military status, and a notarised sworn statement of not having been removed from the maritime authority's registers.

The process is handled at any port captaincy. Port Captaincies administer the basic shellfish diver exams (theoretical and practical); Maritime Governorates administer the intermediate, specialist and commercial exams, plus instructor, supervisor and contractor. The current fees according to ChileAtiende are US$8.18 for the exam fee, US$9.52 for the award, and US$9.52 for validity, adjusted every 1 January. Once obtained, the licence is valid for one year from the date the medical certificate is issued.

You can prepare on your own with the TM-035 regulation, at a state-recognised training body, or with the online simulations on the Capitanía Digital portal. For the specific verified schools —prices, duration, locations— you'll find the full detail in how to become a commercial diver in Chile, in the general guide how to become a commercial diver, and in the schools listing.

Once licensed, the usual path to a salmon farm is direct: contact the contracting companies operating in the area where you want to work —Puerto Montt has most of them—, check the listings in jobs, and be available for shift-based embarkation. Many hires at basic and intermediate level start as temporary cover or support during peak season.

What changes with Ley 21.789 from August 2026

Ley No. 21.789, known as the "Diving Law", was published on 17 February 2026 and comes into force on the first day of the sixth month after publication, that is, around 17 August 2026. It's the first time the diver's employment contract has been specifically regulated in Chile, and its scope expressly covers the extraction, farming or processing of hydrobiological resources —in other words, exactly the work at salmon farm sites—, as well as other industrial activities with air diving. It excludes military and police personnel and recreational diving.

Among what it establishes: it requires the employer to provide "adequate technical means" and to maintain sufficient safety equipment, with "permanent supervision and support" at every stage of the work; it creates an electronic register of dives and safety conditions that can be inspected; it promotes the certification of work competencies; and it strengthens protections around subcontracting and temporary work —exactly the point running through much of the cases described above—. It also declares 18 December the National Day of the Chilean Diver.

What still isn't known, because it hasn't been publicly set, are the technical details: a joint regulation from the Ministries of Labour and Defence must set the technical requirements, habitability standards, safe working methods, personal protective equipment, safety equipment and accident protocols, and that regulation has not yet been published with specific depths, oxygen standards or chamber requirements. Treat any figure you see circulating on that with caution until the regulation is public. Check the full detail of the law in Ley 21.789, explained.

Apart from the law, SUSESO (the Social Security Superintendence) has opened public consultation on a circular with a Safe Diving Guide and further preventive requirements, another sign that the sector's regulatory framework is actively shifting during 2026.

What a diver should demand before going down

With all of the above on the table, here's the concrete list of what you can ask for or check before accepting a contract or boarding a diving vessel at a salmon farm:

• Exactly who your employer is —the contractor, not the salmon farm— and whether that company subcontracts you in turn.
• That there is supervision and support on the surface throughout the dive, not only on the way down and the way up.
• The condition and certification of the support vessel, and that life jackets are available and actually worn, not just carried on board.
• That your equipment is rated for the actual depth you're going to work at, not for a shallower one.
• A clear accident protocol and access to a hyperbaric chamber or evacuation in the event of a decompression accident.
• That your licence is current and your medical certificate is within date, and that your licence category matches the equipment you'll actually be using.

None of this guarantees that nothing will happen. But asking these questions, and refusing to go down if the answers don't convince you, is exactly the kind of decision Ley 21.789 tries to back up with a register and inspection, and one that until now has depended almost entirely on each diver's own judgement.