Photo: Stockfile/FIS

Historic Milestone: Peru Establishes New Regulatory Framework for Sustainable Giant Squid Fisheries Management

PERU
Wednesday, March 12, 2025, 08:00 (GMT + 9)

After a four-year collaborative process between the State, artisanal fishing associations, and industry, the Ministry of Production (PRODUCE), through Supreme Decree No. 003-2025-PRODUCE, today published the new Fisheries Management Regulation (ROP) for giant squid (dosidicus gigas).

After a four-year collaborative process between the State, artisanal fishing associations, and industry, the Ministry of Production (PRODUCE), through Supreme Decree No. 003-2025-PRODUCE, today published the new Fisheries Management Regulation (ROP) for giant squid.

The president of the Committee for the Sustainable Management of Giant Squid (CALAMASUR), Alfonso Miranda Eyzaguirre, stated that this regulatory update establishes clearer rules for the sustainable exploitation of this resource, aligning it with the current reality of this fishery.

He explained that giant squid is one of Peru's most important fishery resources, providing livelihoods for thousands of artisanal fishermen along the Peruvian coast.

"According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Peru is responsible for more than 50% of global catches of this important resource," he specified.

The head of CALAMASUR said that, despite the above, its regulation was established in 2011 and, after almost 14 years, it no longer reflected the reality of a sector that currently operates exclusively with artisanal vessels and is dedicated to intensively providing food to Peruvians and major world markets.

Joint Work for Sustainable Fishing

The path to the new regulation began in 2022, when the Regional Government of Piura, together with member organizations of the National Society of Artisanal Fishing (SONAPESCAL) and fishing cooperatives from northern Peru, formally submitted a proposal to PRODUCE for a new ROP that recognizes that fishing rights for giant squid should fall exclusively on artisanal vessels that have been fishing it for more than two decades with passive fishing gear.

<-- The peruvian regulations for artisanal fishing of giant squid establish that it must be caught manually using jigging lines (special hooks for squid).

He recalled that, in 2023, the dialogue was expanded thanks to proposals from the Fisheries and Aquaculture Committee of the National Society of Industries (SNI) and the Peruvian Chamber of Giant Squid (CAPECAL).

These raised the need to establish more participatory governance spaces to make fisheries management more transparent.

They also proposed including the registration of the Peruvian artisanal fleet in the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), so that the Peruvian fleet is also authorized to catch giant squid in international waters.

In 2024, SONAPESCA, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Committee of the National Society of Industries, and CAPECAL joined forces to finalize the submission of a joint regulatory proposal to PRODUCE.

Subsequently, after months of intensive meetings between actors in the Peruvian fishing sector and PRODUCE, the publication, through Ministerial Resolution No. 415-2024-PRODUCE, of the Draft Fisheries Management Regulation for the Giant Squid resource took place.

This was subjected to a public consultation process between November 2024 and January 2025 to gather input from fishermen, industry, and civil society.

Opinions of Key Actors

Elsa Vega, president of SONAPESCAL, highlighted: "This new regulation is the result of the joint work of various fishing associations to improve the protection of this valuable resource. We congratulate the government, as well as all fishing bases, for marking this important historic milestone."

For his part, Piero Rojas, a fisheries law specialist, explained that the new regulation not only ratifies the resource's state of full exploitation but also recognizes the fisheries management measures that have been implemented by the actors who have actually been participating in this extractive activity over time.

"It establishes the use of the jigging line as the only permitted fishing gear to catch this resource and introduces provisions that will allow the fishery to be managed under a precautionary and transparency approach," Rojas stated.

Meanwhile, Alfonso Miranda Eyzaguirre, president of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Committee of the SNI, acknowledged that, just as they have been critical of this and previous administrations when there have been events that are inconvenient for the fishing sector, they also know how to recognize that the approval of the regulation represents a great success for the management of a resource like giant squid.

"I welcome the measure on behalf of the Committee I chair," he added.  

For his part, Gerardo Carrera, president of CAPECAL, commented on the importance of this regulation: "We congratulate the articulated work of the Ministry of Production with the Giant Squid fishing actors, which has allowed us to have a new ROP aimed at the management of this important fishery, incorporating at the same time precautionary management measures that bring us closer to the sustainability standards that world markets demand."

Finally, Henry Juárez, former Deputy Director of the Regional Production Directorate of the Regional Government of Piura, emphasized that this new regulation confers a more solid legal framework.

"Unlike the previous regulation, now any possibility of foreign fleets carrying out fishing operations on giant squid in our seas again has been prohibited," Juárez said.  

Supreme Decree No. 003-2025-PRODUCE, today published the new Fisheries Management Regulation (ROP) for giant squid. (click on the image to enlarge)

Advances and Challenges

While the giant squid ROP is celebrated as an advance, challenges still persist. Piero Rojas recalled the need to identify 100% of the fleet dedicated to giant squid.

For his part, the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Jesús Barrientos, has stated in various media that his administration is working on complementary measures, such as the massification of the use of satellite monitoring and traceability technologies, adapted to the reality of artisanal fishing.

The publication of the ROP sets a precedent in the development of more participatory fisheries governance, demonstrating that technical dialogue, combined with political will, will generate concrete solutions for the thousands of families that depend economically on artisanal fishing.

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