Peru's Fishmeal Industry:

Its Societal and Environmental Impact

by: Angel Vizurraga

Fishmeal is a product that is used to feed farm animals and some marine animals, mainly made from anchovies or other small fish. It's popularity around the world is due to high levels of protein and availability. For years now, Peru is the leading country in the production and exportation of fishmeal. In the fishing industry, fish are caught for two distinct purposes, direct human consumption (canned, frozen, fresh) or for indirect human consumption (fishmeal, fish oil). About 83% of all fish caught in Peru in 2008 were for indirect human consumption totaling in more than 6 million metric tons.[1] The majority of fishmeal production comes from Chimbote, a city north of Lima with the biggest port in the world.[2] Although the fishmeal industry has created jobs for many people and contributes millions of dollars to the Peruvian economy, it also has negative drawbacks. Due to the many factories that have been built around the city, residents of Chimbote have seen increased levels of pollution. Once a tourist attraction, the beaches are now filled with garbage and tainted water.
Peru
Located in South America and known for its cuisine, culture, and for being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world is Peru. Peru has access to about 1,500 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline, a popular choice for the fishing industry. While this story will focus on the Peruvian anchoveta, or anchovy, there are many other species of fish that also live in these waters such as tuna, mackerel, and the hake, a cod-like fish.[1] These are all important to note as they are used for the direct consumption of humans, a topic talked about later in this story.
Chimbote
Chimbote is a small fishing city, located in the district of Santa, about 250 miles north of Peru's capital, Lima. Although Chimbote is a small fishing city, it is one of the main producers of fishmeal in Peru as well as considered the world's biggest fishing port. Altering Chimbote during the 20th century, the fishmeal industry converted a small tourist town of 30,000 people to a working-class city of nearly 265,100.[3] While some see the fishmeal industry as an advantage, most inhabitants do not agree. Fishmeal producing factories have polluted not just residential air but also oceans. The strength of the fishmeal industry in Chimbote has silenced many residents who want more positive changes for their city. The industry has the power to shut down any person or organization that attempts to fight for the Chimbote residents or the environment.
Fishmeal Exported by Country
Fishmeal Exported by Peru
The large population of the native Peruvian anchoveta makes Peru the world’s largest exporter in fishmeal. Its "boom" started in the mid 60’s. In 1967, more than 2 million tons of fishmeal were exported globally. However, the industry and exportation has been impacted throughout the years by the effects of climate change, such as "El Niño”, a naturally occurring phenomenon whose magnitude is affected by man-made climate change. In 1972, a year when Peru was struck by an "El Niño", only around 350,000 tons of fishmeal were exported.[4]

Even with all the issues that are capable of affecting the industry, it has still been able to export vast amounts of fishmeal to the world. It is estimated that in 2021, Peru will have exported about 1,100,000 metric tons of fishmeal globally. The next closest nation, Chile, is estimated to export only about 210,000 metric tons. Although this may seem as a positive for Peru, the fishmeal industry has had a great negative societal and environmental impact to the country.

Water Waste

Wildlife

Employment

Malnutrition

One of the main negative impacts of fishmeal production on the environment is the waste of water. It is estimated that to transport 1 ton of fishmeal to the factories, about two to three tons of water is needed.[3] During use, water is contaminated and cannot be used any longer.

In 2005, Peru removed from the ocean about 8,628,000 tons of anchovies for the indirect consumption of humans. If we estimate how much water was wasted to transport the anchovies to the factories, it totals to about 17 to 24 million tons.

The visualization on the right displays the amount of water needed to transport the anchovies to fishmeal producing factories. At a time where it is estimated that about 77 million people in South America lack access to potable water, these wasted resources should be put into better use. In Ancash, where Chimbote is located, only about 80% of residents have access to clean drinking water.[6]
Overfishing is defined as “the removal of a species of fish from a body of water at a rate that the species cannot replenish, resulting in those species becoming underpopulated in that area.” The Peruvian anchovy has been fished at high rates from the Peruvian ocean, resulting in negative consequences. In 2017, the high presence of juvenile anchovies, anchovies that are too small to be fished, caused the Peruvian government to close the fishing season prematurely.[7] Juvenile anchovies are protected to maintain the anchovy population in Peru’s ocean. The high presence of these is a sign they are being fished from at high rates. The anchovies must be allowed to mature to maintain a healthy quantity in the ecosystem.

The overfishing of anchovies has also damaged the populations of other species surrounding Peruvian waters. South American sea lions, also known as lobos marinos chuscos, are predators of the Peruvian anchoveta. Because they need anchovies to survive, the disappearance of the fish could be catastrophic for this sea lion species. There is already a proven correlation between the anchovy population and the South American sea lion population in Peru. When the quantity of anchovies decreased, the sea lion population also decreased.[8]

Birds that live near the coast of Peru will also be harmed by the great removal of anchovies. There are certain species that heavily depend on the fish for nutrition. Guano birds, such as cormorants, gannets and pelicans, are the main predators of anchovies. They are very beneficial to our environment as they are producers of guano, which can be used as natural fertilizer. To analyze the need for anchovies of any predator, we could look at their diet. If a certain species only eats anchovies, then anchovies will account for 100% of their diet. For cormorants, anchovies make up about 95% of their diet. For gannets and pelicans, it is about 80%.[9]
Diet of Species
Areas in Orange are Anchovies
Negative Export Rates for Fishmeal Exports from Peru
Employment is a sector that could be greatly improved by the reduction the fishmeal industry. The chart to the left shows that the quantities of fishmeal that are exported do not have an impact on the income of the people living in these areas. While the average monthly income for Ancash, where Chimbote is located, has increased consistently with Peru's average, the amount of fishmeal exported has varied greatly during those years.

The strong variations of fishmeal exported each year also affect fishermen and factory workers. As seen below, the quantities of fishmeal that are exported have been greatly impacted by natural disasters and quotas imposed by the Peruvian government, influencing employment for the people working in these sectors.
Even with all of these foods available inside the country, there are still countless children and adults that suffer from malnutrition. Anchovies, which are high in nutritional value, could be used to address the issue. Norway is a nation that also has an abundance of anchovies in their oceans and use the majority of their fish landings for the direct consumption of humans. They also have a much lower percentage of population living under malnourishment at 2.5%.

The table on the left side displays the amount of fishmeal that is exported from Peru and the percentage of the population considered undernourished. There is a pattern that shows a decrease in percentage of undernourished people when fishmeal exports decrease. As well as an increase in percentage of undernourished people when fishmeal exports increase. While there is not enough evidence to conclude that decreasing the amount of fishmeal exported will result in a decrease in the undernourished population, this relationship should be studied further.

Almost all of the anchovies caught in Peru are reserved for fishmeal. Since 2013, the proportion of anchovies reserved for fishmeal has not been under 96%. For Norway, in 2007, the last year for which the data is available, only about 13% of their fish landings are used towards producing fish oil and fishmeal.[10] In fact, Peru has a yearly quota on the number of anchovies that can be used for direct human consumption. While there have been many proposals to use anchovies to adequately feed its citizens, the Peruvian government has failed to implement a plan to use anchovies to reduce the malnourished population.
Data:


IndexMundi

Peru - Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica

United Nations - Humanitarian Data Exchange

The World Bank
References:


[1] Food and Agriculture Agency of the United Nations. National Fisheries Sector Overview - Peru. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/tempref/FI/DOCUMENT/fcp/en/FI_CP_PE.pdf

[2] https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2016/01/05/new-analysis-identifies-worlds-largest-and-busiest-fishing-ports

[3] Kuramoto, Juana. (2005). El cluster pesquero de Chimbote: acción conjunta limitada y la tragedia de los recursos colectivos. Grupo de Analisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE), Documentos de Trabajo.

[4] “El Niño: Pacific Wind and Current Changes Bring Warm, Wild Weather.” NASA, NASA, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/ElNino/page3.php.

[5] Ma, Yihan. “China: Fish Meal Import Volume 2021.” Statista, 12 Apr. 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1063468/china-fish-meal-import-volume/.

[6] Agua y Saneamiento En Áncash.” Instituto Peruano De Economía, 18 Feb. 2019, https://www.ipe.org.pe/portal/agua-y-saneamiento-en-ancash/.

[7] “Fao.org.” High Juvenile Presence in Peru Ends an Already Tough Year for Fishmeal Production| GLOBEFISH | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, https://www.fao.org/in-action/globefish/market-reports/resource-detail/en/c/896543/.

[8] Arias-Schreiber, Milena. “Los Lobos Marinos y Su Relacion Con La Abundancia De La Anchoveta Peruana Durante 1979 - 2000.” Boletin, vol. 19, 2000, pp. 133–138.

[9] Tran, Lynn. “Local Marine Organisms.” Peruvian Anchovy Industry - Local Marine Organisms, North Carolina State University, Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education, 10 July 2003, https://cmast.ncsu.edu/cmast-sites/synergy/anchovy/aorgm.html.

[10] Fao Fisheries Aquaculture, https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/facp/nor?lang=en.