The jobs generated by the anchovy fishing season for indirect human consumption in Peru will amount to 90,000 if indirect employment is included.
Photo: Produce.
This very week, at 0:00 hours on April 22, 2025, the first anchovy fishing season for indirect human consumption in the central-north zone has started in Peru. A campaign that, according to the head of the Peruvian Ministry of Production (Produce), Sergio González, will generate approximately 50,000 direct jobs in the whole chain of the extractive fishing activity.
With the highest total allowable catch (TAC) in the last seven years - it was set at 3,000,000 tons after a thorough assessment of the anchovy biomass by the Peruvian Institute of the Sea (Imarpe) -, González also said that the season will generate a 49% contribution to the fishing GDP, equivalent to an added value of PEN 1,177 million (USD 317.2 million).
"With these results, the fishing GDP is expected to grow by 5.4% compared to the 2024 growth. The quota granted for this 2025 fishing season is the highest after 6 years and the second highest after 13 years. This will generate more than USD 1.7 billion in exports and will represent 7% of total shipments," the head of Produce added.
Thanks to this quota of 3,000,000 tons, as well as the fishing GDP, the 50,000 direct jobs mentioned by Minister González will also grow. According to statements made by Peru's Vice Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Jesús Barrientos, when announcing the start of the season last week, the total number of jobs - direct and indirect - that this first anchovy fishing season 2025 will create in coastal regions will be approximately 90,000.
The anchovy processing industry for fishmeal and fish oil is key in Peru, but also beyond its borders, as the South American country has historically accounted for an average of 20% of world production. Although feed producers continue to seek alternative ingredients for their aquafeed formulations, Peruvian anchovy remains critical to the feed industry.
Thus, when it was announced last week, IFFO, The Marine Ingredients Organisation, expressed its satisfaction with the anchovy TAC announced by Peru. "This quota has been the highest since the ones from 2018 (3,319,700 mt) and 2011 (3,675,000 mt) and signals a healthy biomass," stated Dr Enrico Bachis, IFFO's Market Research Director.
According to IFFO's market intelligence reports, in February 2025, globally, total cumulative fishmeal production increased by approximately 40% compared to the same period in 2024. The Marine Ingredients Organization noted that this increase was mainly influenced by a significant upturn in Peru, the same as was the case for fish oil, which total cumulative production through February 2025 increased by 38% year-on-year, according to IFFO figures.
