Peru boasts the largest fishery by volume in the world, catching several million metric tons (MT) of anchovies each year.
However, Peru’s anchoveta fishery ran into major issues in 2023, with its first fishing season canceled altogether and the other coming to an early close due to the rapid arrival of the spawning season. While the sector’s industrial fishing companies, led by Peru’s National Fisheries Society (SNP), recognize the importance of a sustainable fishery, they have been critical of the slow pace at which the government has responded to changing fishery conditions.
SeafoodSource compiled a list of the five main issues Peru is facing this year based on a number of opinion pieces by SNP President Eduardo Ferreyros, published on the SNP website. Ferreyros has led the SNP since mid-2023, when he took over from Cayetana Aljovín.
1. Regulatory certainty
Due to the tardiness in governmental regulations, SNP called for research into anchovy biomass, which the industry uses to determine seasonal launch dates and total allowable catches, as well as prompt management decisions stemming from that research.
“In 2022, the second anchovy fishing season in the north-central zone began late, seriously affecting the performance of the catches. [In 2023], history repeated itself: The second season could have begun at least two weeks earlier due to improved environmental conditions and an early anchovy spawning process,” Ferreyros said, adding that the canceled first season led to thousands of layoffs and affected more than 250,000 families and 3,500 small and medium enterprises that depend on industrial fishing.
“The reason for the delays in decision-making is not understood, even more so in the current context, which should demand all the efforts of the authorities to face the serious crisis we are experiencing,” he said. “We Peruvians are tired of ...
Photo courtesy of OSTILL is Frank Camhi/Shutterstock
