Peru: Observatory to regulate fishing industry

The Peruvian government has established the first Peruvian observatory to regulate its fishing industry, operated by the universities Cayetano Heredia and del Pacifico, The Nature Conservancy, WWF and the Instituto del Mar Peruano (IMARPE), Infofish reports. The observatory will implement a monitoring system to strengthen and complement the technical capabilities of the government to ensure sustainable management of anchovy stocks.

Free access to fisheries data for the scientific community and the general public will be granted, and implementation and enforcement of the"maximum established catch per boat, which has been set previously, will be faciliated with this move. The observatory will help to assess the potential impacts of industrial fisheries and recommend best practices to ensure the resilience of the anchovy population and the sustainability of the marine ecosystem of the country.  As part of the project, an online platform will be designed for providing accurate technical information relevant for eventual certification of Peruvian anchovy fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Anchovies are a major Peruvian export product  -  70 % of the total national fish exports.

Infofish