"Protecting anchovy means protecting jobs, industry, and food security in the country," said César Quispe Luján, Peruvian Minister of Production.
Photo: Produce.
By order of Peru's Ministry of Production (Produce), at 00:00 hours yesterday, February 1, 2026, the second 2025 fishing season for anchovy (Engraulis ringens) and white anchovy (Anchoa nasus) in the north-central part of the country concluded. The season had begun at 12:00 a.m. on November 7, 2025.
Produce stated that the decision was based on the usual ongoing monitoring carried out by the Peruvian Institute of the Sea (Imarpe), as well as on reports from the General Directorate of Supervision, Control, and Sanctions (DGSFS), which reported that, as of January 25, the cumulative catch reached 1,596,013 tons, equivalent to 97.91% of the total allowable catch (TAC), which had been set at 1,630,000 tons for the current season.
A few days before Peru's Ministry of Production released the exact figure, IFFO, The Marine Ingredients Organisation, had already announced that the second anchovy fishing season of 2025 in north-central Peru had ended with almost the entire quota landed, which IFFO's Director of Market Research described as "positive news," despite which it forecasted a slight year-on-year decline in fishmeal and fish oil production in 2025.
The mention of IFFO and the organization's monitoring of the anchovy fishing season in Peru is no coincidence, as the South American country accounts for around 20% of global production of both fishmeal and fish oil, meaning that the feed industry always has its eyes on it.
In fact, when last December The Marine Ingredients Organisation forecasted a production of 5.4 million tons of fishmeal and 1.2 million tons of fish oil in 2025, it did so based on the fact that, at the close of its October report, two-thirds of the 1.63 million tons quota set for the second anchovy fishing season of 2025 in north-central Peru had already been caught.
Commenting on the closure of the second fishing season 2025 for anchovy and white in north-central Peru, the Peruvian Minister of Production César Quispe Luján—who took office last October—said that the closure of the season is in compliance with current fisheries management regulations.
"The State has a responsibility to regulate fishing activity based on technical and conservation criteria. This measure allows the season to be closed in an orderly manner, ensuring the responsible use of one of the country's main hydrobiological resources," he stated.
The Minister of Production also emphasized that the sustainability of the resource is a central pillar of Peru's national fisheries policy. "Protecting anchovy means protecting jobs, industry, and food security in the country. That is why fisheries management is based on scientific information and the principle of sustainability," Quispe Luján said.
Likewise, the Ministry of Production indicated that, after the end of the season, anchovy gradually enters a phase of greater reproductive activity typical of the summer period. Therefore, Imarpe will continue to monitor biological, population, and fishing indicators in order to recommend the necessary measures for its proper preservation promptly.
Meanwhile, the first anchovy fishing season of 2026 in southern Peru has been underway since the beginning of the year. Also intended for indirect human consumption, it will remain in effect until June 30 or until the authorized quota of 251,000 tons is reached.