Brazil has an emergent economy, large fresh water resources and is a leading country in food export in several products. While the aquaculture industry has an enormous potential, its production figures are still low when compared to industries such as the meat one. The structural challenges for the sector development can be seen as three types, respectively technical, political and economic. This study will analyze the aquaculture sector in Brazil in terms of actors, institutions and policies, at a national level, and will aim to provide recommendations to overcome the current bottlenecks for the further industry development. A comparison will be made with the industries in Chile and Vietnam.