Peru’s Ministry of Production (PRODUCE) has set 22 April as the launch date for the first 2025 anchovy-fishing season in the country’s North-Central zone.
Authorities established a total allowable catch (TAC) of 3 million metric tons (MT) for the season, based on technical and biological reports submitted by the Peruvian Sea Institute (Imarpe). This TAC marks the second-highest seasonal quota in the last decade, PRODUCE announced on its website.
“Our anchovy is very healthy, with a current biomass of about 11 million MT, mainly due to the fact that the environmental conditions of our sea are neutral,” Fisheries and Aquaculture Deputy Minister Jesús Barrientos said. “This season reaffirms that Peru has sustainable management and can develop industrial fishing in a responsible way, using technical criteria and thinking about future generations.”
The positive conditions going into the season mark a clear distinction from 2023, when El Niño weather patterns wreaked havoc on the anchovy fishery, leading PRODUCE to close the country’s second anchovy season early after having completely canceled the first season.
After that difficult year, Peru then had two solid seasons in 2024, landing more than 4.6 million MT of anchovy for indirect human consumption. The fishery – one of the world’s largest – brings in billions of dollars in revenue, and the country’s anchovy catch is used to produce about 20 percent of global fishmeal supplies.
As a result, global fishmeal and fish oil production increased in 2024, according to IFFO - the Marine Ingredients Organization...
