With this quota, Peru aims to balance economic activity with sustainable fishing.
Photo: Produce.
As IFFO – The Marine Ingredients Organisation had indicated in its latest trends report, the long-awaited quota for Peru's first anchovy fishing season of 2026 in the north-central zone has been released in early April. Citing sustainability reasons, the Peruvian Ministry of Production (Produce) set the quota at 1.91 million tons, a 36% reduction compared to last year.
"The authorized quota ensures an adequate balance between responsible exploitation and stock conservation, considering the population structure of the resource, its behavior in the face of current marine environmental conditions and continuous monitoring of fishing operations," the Ministry said in a statement.
With the beginning of the month, Produce authorized the start of the first anchovy (Engraulis ringens) and white anchovy (Anchoa nasus) fishing season for indirect human consumption in the north-central zone of the Peruvian coast.
Specifically, and following the scientific recommendations of the Peruvian Institute of the Sea (Imarpe), the regulation established a total allowable catch (TAC) of 1,914,049 tons. This means that, compared to the 3,000,000 tons authorized last year, in 2026, 1,085,951 fewer tons can be fished, or, as mentioned, 36% less.
Part of the significance of this decline has to do with the fact that, as IFFO's Market research director, Dr Enrico Bachis, explained at the time, the 2025 quota was the highest since those from 2018 (3,319,700 mt) and 2011 (3,675,000 mt).
Now, this reduction is also added to the fact that, despite the positive fishing effort in southern Peru—where the first anchovy fishing season of 2026 has been underway since January—Peruvian production has remained below last year's levels in January and February, which led The Marine Ingredients Organisation to speak of a downward trend in fishmeal and fish oil production for the start of the year.
As IFFO has explained on several occasions, Peru alone accounts for around 20% of the world's production of fishmeal and fish oil, so its anchovy season sets the standard for marine ingredients trends globally.
And not only The Marine Ingredients Organisation, the assessment report on the fisheries and aquaculture sector of the South American Country, prepared by the Committee on Fisheries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), presented last month in Lima, was in the same vein.
According to the OECD's report, Peru is among the world's largest fish producers—with 5.5 million tons in 2022, equivalent to 3% of global fisheries and aquaculture production—but also that 97% of that production comes from marine capture fisheries, which, in turn, depends heavily on Peruvian anchovy, which represents 77% of that marine capture production.
And while Peru's anchovy catches place the country at the center of international seafood supply chains, as the Peruvian Ministry of Production has now highlighted, their impact on the country's national economy is also crucial.
According to the Peruvian Ministry of Production, the opening of the first anchovy fishing season for indirect human consumption in the north-central region is expected to generate an estimated value added of PEN 769 million (EUR 192 million / USD 224.6 million), equivalent to 19.5% of the GDP of the fisheries sector and an approximate contribution of 0.13% to the national economy in 2026.
In terms of employment, Produce stated that the season will generate more than 47,000 direct and indirect jobs across the entire production chain. Furthermore, in terms of foreign trade, it is projected to generate approximately USD 855 million in foreign exchange, representing 18.3% of the total estimated fisheries exports for the year.
The first anchovy fishing season of 2026 in Peru's north-central zone will involve more than 670 fishing vessels with valid permits, whose catches will be landed at various Peruvian ports, thereby boosting the regional economy, employment, and economic activity in coastal areas.
Only vessels with a valid permit that use purse seine nets with a minimum mesh size of ½ inch and that operate outside of areas reserved for artisanal fishing will be allowed to carry out extractive activities.
In order to safeguard the sustainability of the fishery, Produce has also announced that it will continuously monitor the catches of these vessels, and has reminded that regulations prohibit the harvesting of fish smaller than the permitted size, with a maximum tolerance of 10% per fishing trip.
Finally, Peru's Ministry of Production also reiterated its authority to suspend or immediately close fishing areas in the event of a high incidence of juvenile fish. Regarding the end date of this fishing season, the Ministry stated that it will conclude when the authorized TAC is reached, or, failing that, when Imarpe recommends it due to environmental or biological circumstances.