Peru boasts the largest fishery by volume in the world, with the several million metric tons (MT) of anchovies caught in the country each year the single largest factor in determining supply and pricing for the global fishmeal and fish oil sector.
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. The sector’s commercial fishing companies, led by the National Fisheries Society (SNP) trade group, 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 uncertainty
Due to the tardiness in governmental regulations, SNP called for more 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-sized 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 excuses, of officials’ fear of taking action, and of wrong political decisions.”
Ferreyros said he hopes that the anchovy fishing season kicks off on time in 2024 and, along with the technical allocation of horse mackerel quotas, allows for those dependent on the industry to earn a living. To achieve this goal, he said that immediate decisions to authorize fishing are needed as soon as there is evidence of favorable environmental and biological conditions.
2. Economic reactivation
Peru as a whole suffered from economic challenges in 2023, and in response, the government introduced its “Unidos” Economic Reactivation Plan, in which 25 measures were announced to reactivate the national economy and prevent recession. Peru's Economy Ministry said the fishing sector – one of the main drivers of the country’s economy – was most affected, suffering losses of more than PEN 3 billion (USD 787 million, EUR 726 million).
However, none of the 25 measures proposed in the plan specifically address fishing sector issues, according to Ferreyros.
“Unfortunately, there is a lot of talk, and little is done. It is absolutely contradictory that the fishing sector is used to explain the fall in GDP, but no specific measures for its recovery are announced,” Ferreyros said.
Worse yet, according to Ferreyros, oceanographic conditions allowed for the start of the second fishing season in Peru’s main fishing zone, but the Ministry of Production assigned a low quota of 1.68 million MT, which was insufficient to recover the losses accumulated in the year. The ministry could have assigned a figure closer to 2 million MT to further contribute to the economy, Ferreyros said. In the end, due to the late start and early closure of the season, only about 75 percent of the quota was caught.
“We hope for a much more dynamic 2024 than previous years, where both the public and private sectors manage to work together to resume growth, and we all understand that it is the only route, with clear rules and timely decisions,” he said.
3. Sustainable development
Commercial anchovy fishing is responsible for some 250,000 jobs in Peru and it brings in around USD 2.5 billion (EUR 2.3 billion) a year due to exports of fishmeal and fish oil. Ferreyros said the fishery's sustainable management is the primary reason the sector has become an economic pillar in Peru.
“To continue growing and consolidating ourselves as a fishing power, it is essential to promote sustainable development by taking care of resources, eliminating informality and illegal activities, working in harmony with the environment, and strengthening the communities where we are present, and we work on that commitment every day,” Ferreyros said.
However, Ferreyros called for an even playing field with the same rules for all industry actors. He criticized the fact that many smaller-scale and artisanal fishers maintain active anchovy near-shore fishing operations after the season is closed to larger commercial vessels.
“Don't you think that, if a resource is under a reproductive ban, all actors in the sector should be obliged to stop capturing it and show a real commitment to caring for the resource? Likewise, [shouldn’t] the authority establish a total ban?” he asked.
4. Communication
Despite the sustainable management of Peru’s anchovy fishery, the country's commercial fishing sector has been criticized by by some decrying its “anchovy predation.” Ferreyros said this claim “is a big lie that [activists] use to misinform, since the biomass of this resource is stable and healthy at around 9 million MT on average in recent years.”
Ferreyros said incidental, unwanted anchovy catch occurs but has never exceeded legal limits to ensure the biomass remains stable. All “serious” anchovy fishers know and respect this quota based on research and scientific recommendations, he said.
As such, the sector has a communication challenge in battling misinformation and properly informing the public of the sector’s sustainability practices.
5. Effective cabotage
SNP has called for the approval of a law governing cabotage – the transport of goods between two places in the same country by an operator flying a flag from another country. The move would facilitate trade while making Peru more competitive by decongesting roads, reducing transportation costs, and cutting down on delays entering ports, according to Ferreyros.
In March 2017, the country was seriously affected by rains, landslides, and floods as a consequence of the coastal El Niño phenomenon, destroying several sections of the national road network in the north of the country. SNP-associated companies made their fishing boats available for the creation of a “maritime bridge,” allowing the private sector, public institutions, and organized civil society to transfer donations – including nonperishable food, water, medicine, and tents – to thousands of stranded Peruvians across the country.
Ferreyros said he hopes that same efficiency can become incorporated across the Peruvian economy in 2024 and beyond.
Photo courtesy of OSTILL is Frank Camhi/Shutterstock
