Peru’s Production Ministry (PRODUCE) has closed the second anchovy- and white anchovy-fishing season of 2024 in the country’s main fishing area, with the nation’s industrial fishing fleet having landed over 95 percent of the total allowable catch (TAC).
PRODUCE launched the second anchovy-fishing season of 2024 on 1 November 2024, establishing a TAC of 2.51 million metric tons (MT) for the season. Over 2.4 million MT were caught by the season’s 23 January close. Authorities made the closure decision based on the Peruvian Sea Institute’s (Imarpe) permanent monitoring on the main biological, population, and fisheries indicators of the resource.
According to Imarpe, the move was instituted to protect the anchovy spawning stock after a significant increase in reproductive activity was detected. The institute said that discontinuing fishing would create optimal conditions for the development of eggs and larvae, contributing to greater future abundance.
“The sustainability of our fisheries resources is essential to ensure the continuity of fishing activity and food security. The protection of the resource during spawning is a commitment that we assume with responsibility for the future of our fisheries,” Peruvian Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Jesús Barrientos said. “Taking care of the anchovy during reproduction is not only a biological necessity but a responsibility to ensure that this resource – a pillar of our industrial and artisanal fishing – continues to generate economic, social, and nutritional benefits. Sustainability is not an option; it is a priority.”
The total catch in the second season represents exports of more than USD 1.4 billion (EUR 1.35 billion), and the fishery is a significant source of employment in Peru, providing about 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to PRODUCE Minister Sergio González. The prospects for the fishery in 2025 are positive, he said, based on Imarpe’s scientific evaluations.
Peru’s industrial fishing fleets operate in the world’s largest anchovy fishery and the largest fishery by volume in the world. Peru typically accounts for up to 20 percent of global fishmeal production.
The second season result marks the fishery’s best performance since 2020, when 2.45 million MT were caught, equivalent to 88.2 percent of the quota established at that time.
Peru’s first anchovy season of 2024 also wrapped up successfully, with 98 percent of the 2.48 million MT TAC caught. That single-season total was higher than the country caught all year in 2023, particularly due to the authority’s June 2023 decision to cancel the main anchovy-fishing season owing to the high presence of juveniles, which drastically limited supplies. That cancellation contributed to a 23 percent drop in global fishmeal production in 2023.
