Por la Pesca, a joint project established in 2022 between the Walton Family Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is on a mission to decrease illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Ecuador and Peru.
Por la Pesca has set a goal of decreasing IUU fishing in the two South American nations – an issue that has risen in prevalence and profile in South America – by up to 30 percent over the next five years. To do so, it has launched a campaign to encourage artisanal fishers to become licensed and registered by reducing barriers to formalization such as high costs, lack of application information, and lengthy waiting periods. The organization’s project also features a plan to create new fisher associations, with the aim of increasing the bargaining power of local fishers.
“Licensed fishers are more likely to comply with regulations, and the authorities can monitor and enforce them effectively. Not only does this help prevent the depletion of fish stocks, but also, it creates a level playing field for all fishers, drastically reducing any possible incentives for corruption,” Walton Family Foundation Environment Program Officer Renu Mittal said.
In five years, Por la Pesca intends to complete licensing and registration for 1,000 artisanal vessel owners, benefiting at least 6,000 fishers in the mahi, jumbo flying squid, octopus, and tuna fisheries in both countries. Within the same time frame, the project plans to support at least 20 artisanal fisher associations to improve their bargaining power regarding catches and foster collaboration with governments to set better parameters around the industry.
The effort is designed to undermine the market for IUU-originated seafood, as unregistered fishing vessels cannot gain access to export markets or advocate for fishery management due to an inability to meet international sustainability standards, Mittal said. Simultaneously, attaining governmental licensing and registration enables fishers to gain fishing rights and operate in a formal economy, and commits them to adhering to conservation-focused rules and regulations.
“The main goal is to provide market and regulatory incentives to fishers to formalize and increase responsible practices,” Mittal said.
Highly migratory stocks such as mahi, jumbo squid, and tuna require greater management due to the nature of their movement across boundaries, Mittal said. International formalization and registration ensure sustainability of these stocks through defined limits, improved working conditions, and management strategies. According to Mittal, Por la Pesca’s work is an example other countries can follow to improve the participation, reporting, and compliance of domestic fisheries with international management systems, especially in regard to fisheries that straddle or cross jurisdictional boundaries.
For near-shore fisheries like octopus, Por la Pesca’s work toward formalization and capacity-building for co-management structures is “critical,” according to Mittal. It also has secondary benefits –without governmental recognition, fishermen lose access to governmental services, a pain that was magnified during the Covid-19 pandemic as many unregistered fishers lost economic support.
“The implementation of extraction plans based on local-level action can improve sustainability and community well-being, drawing on successful experiences in other places like Chile and Galicia,” Mittal said. “Through broader adoption of co-management schemes at the international level, these efforts are gaining strength and producing more insight to improve ongoing experiences.”
In both Peru and Ecuador, there are still many fishers without licenses, mainly due to a recent uptick in consumer concern about sustainable fishing that has led to new government oversight of fisheries, requiring many fishers to formalize their businesses for the first time.
But many were already registered thanks to a previous collaboration in 2021 and 2022 between the Walton Family Foundation, Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA), and the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) that resulted in license attainment for 84 percent of 3,430 Peruvian vessels, a massive increase from the 28 percent prior. As part of that effort, SPDA created an online platform offering free services and advice to fishers trying to achieve formalization. The program resulted in many fishers buying refrigerated trucks and adapting boats for further travel in order to maximize their yields and profit.
“The artisanal fishing industries in Peru and Ecuador are sources of pride for fishers. They provide a significant percentage of the seafood exported to the U.S. and E.U., as well as to households and restaurants in their own countries,” Mittal said. “When fishers are licensed, they feel recognized and supported by their government and also have access to important services like social security and affordable financing. This is why they see it as an opportunity to improve their lives and the sustainability of their industry.”
As an additional component of the project, Por la Pesca plans to establish alliances with strategic buyers to grant small-scale fisheries access to local and international markets, promote science-based and participatory fisheries policies and regulations in Ecuador’s and Peru’s governments, and increase transparency by collaborating with authorities to share fisheries data.
“One of our top priorities is to ensure that consumers have access to legal, traceable, and responsible seafood,” Mittal said. “To this end, our grantees and partners are working to promote fair bargaining between fisher associations and intermediary buyers. To that end, they are working to establish at least four agreements with strategic buyers.”
The Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA), an NGO defending the right of Peruvian citizens to live within healthy environments, is also involved with Por la Pesca in alliance with eight other NGOs: the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, REDES-Sostenibilidad Pesquera, Pro Delphinus, the Environmental Defense Fund, Future of Fish, The Nature Conservancy Peru, World Wildlife Fund Peru, and WildAid Ecuador.
“This is only the beginning of a five-year plan, but there are already impressive signs of progress,” Mittal said. “Por la Pesca is encouraging responsible fishing practices in Peru and Ecuador. Despite political instability in both countries, Por la Pesca has taken real strides by getting artisanal fleets licensed to fish in international waters. They are supporting policies and frameworks to encourage the formalization of their fleets and discourage IUU fishing.”
Photo courtesy of Oceana
