Elena Conterno during the presentation of the study.

Peru catches less anchovy than Chile in southern zone after elimination of special regime

PERU
Thursday, January 17, 2019, 10:00 (GMT + 9)

The National Fisheries Society (SNP), based on a report prepared by the consultancy Macroconsult, said yesterday that since the elimination of the Special Fisheries Regime (REP), Peru catches less anchovy than Chile in the southern zone, where both countries share a stock of this resource.

According to the aforementioned document, while the Peruvian fishery registered a significant decrease in the anchovy catch rates in the 2011-2015 and 2017 periods, in Chile the opposite happened.

"Fishing in the southern zone of Peru has been 50 percent lower than that of the northern zone of Chile since 2012, even being 67 percent lower in the years 2013 and 2017," it says.

In this regard, the president of the SNP, Elena Conterno, indicated that unlike Peru, Chile's fisheries policy - which is governed by the same conservation and sustainability objectives as Peru's - has determined that its vessels can fish for anchovy from mile 1 in some areas.

Anchovy stock at South East Pacific (Paralel 16 South is the limit between north and south stock)

"In other words, Chile has taken into account features of the continental shelf similar to those we have in southern Peru, which have given competitiveness to their industry, and a sample of this are the landing figures in the last six years . In our case, there is a serious negative impact that urgently needs to be resolved," she noted.

The big loser: artisanal fishing

The report prepared by Macroconsult also analyzes the impact of the elimination of REP in artisanal fisheries. The statistical information available shows that the regulatory change would not have had a positive impact on the landings of artisanal fisheries; that is to say, these did not increase when moving away the industrial fleet until the 5 mile.

Peruvian purse seiners fishing vessels which represent industrial fleet

"On the contrary, the elimination of the REP also suppressed the contribution to the Fund for Promotion and Development for Artisanal Fishing (PROSUR), which was intended to promote this sector in Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna," Macroconsult says.

Artisanal fishing boat with seiner net

It also details that for each ton of landed anchovy, fishing companies with activities in the southern area made a contribution equivalent to 0.3 percent of the UIT for PROSUR, which added PEN 24.2 million (USD 7, 2 million) in the years that the regime was in force.

"If the REP had continued, more than PEN 25 million had been transferred to PROSUR to be allocated to projects linked to improving the quality of life and economic activity of artisanal fishermen such as the purchase of equipment, housing construction, etc.", added Conterno.

Comparative catching results: In green South Zone Peru and North Zone Chile in yellow

Finally, the union leader stressed that only a fisheries management in the southern area that allows a greater use of the resource without jeopardizing its sustainability will generate a positive economic impact directly to industry, handicrafts and local employment.

Data of interest

• One of the main geographical characteristics of the southern zone is that the continental shelf is relatively narrow, which causes the southern anchovy stock to be folded back to the coast compared to what is seen in the northern stock center.
• According to IMARPE in the southern zone, up to 97 percent of the anchovy biomass can be located within the first 10 miles.
• With the elimination of the REP, the fishing sector in Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna has gone from representing 2.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2007 to 0.4 percent in 2016.

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