Peru’s eel fishery has officially entered the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) improvement program, which the certification authority launched in November 2024 to incentivize fisheries improvement and prepare them for certification.
More specifically, the program aims to accelerate the improvement of fisheries that do not currently meet the conditions of the MSC Fisheries Standard, offering support and incentives to fisheries in exchange for following an independently verified action plan and making measurable improvements over a five-year period.
Peru’s entry into the program marks a first for South American fisheries, and eel fishers can highlight their participation on product packaging, which can help open new markets, according to Peruvian Eel Producers Association (APPA) President Darío Alvites.
“This achievement reflects the joint commitment of the fishing sector, the authorities, and science to build a more sustainable fishery, which not only conserves the resource in the long term, but also strengthens Peru's competitiveness in international markets,” he said in a press release. “The path to MSC certification continues, and the experience of this fishery can inspire other similar initiatives in the region.”
APPA has been helping to improve the nation’s eel fishery since 2021 through strategic collaborations with public institutions and aiding in the implementation of sustainable fishing practices, Alvites said. The improved eel fishery is expected to bring in USD 15 million (EUR 13.4 million) annually and provide year-round, full-time employment to 150 fishers and 400 plant workers.
The move to join the improvement program builds upon previous momentum built up in the eel fishery.
For example, the Peruvian Production Ministry’s (PRODUCE) Eel Fisheries Management Regulation, approved in December 2024, helped bolster sustainability by incorporating biological reference points and catch control rules for fisheries management. Further, APPA signed a cooperation agreement with PRODUCE’s sea institute, Imarpe, to improve scientific knowledge of the nation’s wild eels via onboard data collection, evaluating the distribution and structure of the eel population, and studies on eels’ biological and genetic aspects.
Eel fishers themselves have adopted a monitoring system with fishing logs across the entire operational fleet, improving the detail of catch records and eel traceability.
The eel fishery is in the north of Peru off the coasts of the cities of Piura and Tumbes, with a smaller-scale fleet that is technologically specialized in this resource. Around 4,700 metric tons of eel were landed in 2024, frozen, and sent mostly to Japan and South Korea.
