Overview
- The ministerial resolution published on Sunday, November 8 authorizes the Instituto del Mar del Perú (Imarpe) to run an exploratory sardine fishery for up to 15 calendar days between 0.5 and 5 nautical miles from the Peruvian coast.
- Produce opened a 72-hour window for eligible permit holders to apply and gave the Dirección General de Pesca Artesanal 24 hours to publish the list of authorized artisanal vessels, with operations starting at 00:00 the day after that list appears.
- Participation is limited to artisanal boats with holds up to 10 cubic meters that hold valid fishing permits and sanitary habilitation, and selected vessels must keep a logbook, allow observers, land at authorized points and deliver at least 30 whole sardine specimens per landing for research.
- Imarpe will supervise and sample the operations, may recommend suspending activity or closing zones if juveniles or harmful bycatch are found, and Produce clarified that participation does not grant commercial access or change existing permits while noncompliance can bring exclusion and administrative sanctions.
- The short survey aims to resolve whether sardine returns are linked to El Niño and to inform management decisions, with Imarpe required to submit a final report after the exercise and potential outcomes including targeted closures or revised rules that would affect artisanal fishers' access and incomes.