In addition to guaranteeing the sustainability of the resource, the quota also aims to diversify the consumption of hydrobiological products among Peruvians.
Photo: Produce.
Peru's Ministry of Production (Produce) announced that the maximum catch limit of the anchovy resource for direct human consumption in the country in 2025 will be 150,000 tons. In addition to guaranteeing the sustainability of the resource, the quota also seeks to strengthen food security, prioritizing supply for the direct human consumption industry.
Best known for its anchovy fishing industry for indirect human consumption, destined for the production of fishmeal and fish oil - it has historically accounted for an average of 20% of global production - Peru wants, however, to also promote the anchovy fishery for direct human consumption, and it intends to do so with all the guarantees for the sustainability of the resource at all levels.
Therefore, as Produce recalled, this maximum catch limit has once again been set with the support of updated scientific information from the Peruvian Institute of the Sea (Imarpe), and applies to all artisanal and small-scale extractive activity on the Peruvian coast.
Increasingly committed to the sustainability of its marine resources, its fisheries governance, and the fight against illegal fishing - June was a key month in this regard -, in order to guarantee the traceability and sustainability of the resource throughout 2025, Produce itself will be in charge of monitoring and surveillance to ensure compliance with this quota.
Based on a technical analysis of the behavior of the resource during the last few years, according to the Ministry of Production, the decision to set the quota at 150,000 tons - the same as last year - responds to the need to strengthen the supply of anchovy for the direct human consumption industry, but to do so without compromising the sustainability of the marine ecosystem.
Likewise, this new quota for 2025 also seeks to boost the development of artisanal fishing and consolidate the sector's strategy aimed at diversifying the consumption of hydrobiological products among Peruvians. A policy that, Produce said, is aligned with its commitment to boost local coastal economies, as well as with the country's food security objectives.
"This measure reflects our commitment to responsible fishing, which not only protects the marine ecosystem, but also promotes direct human consumption as an axis of development for the country's fishing families," said the Vice Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Jesús Barrientos.
"We are promoting a fisheries management policy that prioritizes the welfare of our fishermen and the population's access to food of high nutritional value," he continued. As a result of this policy, among other things, Peru is seeing how landings of fish for direct human consumption are growing in the country.
As WeAreAquaculture reported, for example in April, they increased by 63.9%. At that moment, it was the increase in landings of jumbo flying squid, bonito, skipjack, shrimp, and mullet that contributed significantly to the positive performance. Now, after the suspension of the jumbo flying squid fishery to ensure its sustainability, it is the turn of other species, such as anchovy, to take over.
