When the season was declared closed, catches amounted to 81.92% of the total allowable catch of 3,000,000 tons.
Photo: Produce.
Following the scientific recommendation of the Peruvian Institute of the Sea (Imarpe), Peru's Ministry of Production (Produce) has concluded the first anchovy fishing season 2025 in the north-central zone of the country, which began on April 22, 2025, with a total allowable catch of 3,000,000 tons.
The Peruvian fishing authority said that the measure, which has been in effect since 00:00 hours on Thursday, July 24, was taken because biological conditions were close to being reached that require immediate conservation action.
"The sustainable extraction of anchovy is a strategic priority for the country," said Peru's Vice Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Jesús Barrientos. "Closing the season is a responsible action that protects the fishery of the future and respects the natural cycles of the resource," he added.
The Imarpe's technical report taken into account by Produce, recommended considering conservation measures necessary for the protection of the anchovy spawning and juvenile stock, as well as to close the fishing season for this resource in the north-central zone of Peru after noticing an increase in the gonadal maturation processes of the spawning stock.
According to the Ministry of Production, the decision was also influenced by the fact that it was already close to the catch limit for undersized or juvenile fish established for the season.
"The decision adopted by the Ministry is supported by science and permanent monitoring of our main fishery. It is a timely measure aimed at guaranteeing the sustainability of the anchovy," Vice Minister Barrientos stated.
Nevertheless, to ensure order during the season closing without harming the industrial process - at the beginning of the campaign estimation was that it would generate approximately 50,000 direct jobs in the whole chain of the extractive fishing activity -, the rule decreeing the early conclusion of the season also established that shipowners would have up to 24 hours after the closure to complete the landing of the resource, and 48 hours for its processing.
Thus, if in June, WeAreAquaculture reported that during the first anchovy fishing season 2025 in north-central Peru, more than 45 thousand tons of anchovy per day were being landed, at the time the order for the campaign's conclusion was published, catches amounted to 2,457,487 tons, which represents 81.92% of the total permitted quota of 3,000,000 tons.
However, since, as said, the shipowners had one more day to complete the landings of the resource, Produce remarked that this was a preliminary figure. The final figure will be released in the next few days.
