Peruvian anchoveta

Anchoveta were previously thought to eat mostly phytoplankton, small zooplankton, and larvae. However, recent work has shown that anchoveta get most of their energy from larger zooplankton, including macrozooplankton. Krill and large copepods are the most important dietary components. Peruvian anchoveta live for up to 3 years, reaching . They first reproduce at about 1 year age and length, whereas they are harvested as early as 6 months of age and length. ==Distribution==

Peruvian anchoveta are found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean off Peru and Chile, and typically found in huge schools within of the coast. ==Fisheries==

The anchoveta has been characterised as "the most heavily exploited fish in world history". and the 1972 El Niño event, when warm water drifted over the cold Humboldt Current and lowered the depth of the thermocline. Nutrient-rich waters then no longer upwelled, and phytoplankton production decreased, leaving the anchoveta with a depleted food source. A drastic reduction was also brought about by another strong El Niño in the early 1980s, but production was back up to 12.5 million tonnes in 1994. The annual catches in the 2000s varied between 6.2 and 11.3 million tonnes, consistently more than for any other fish species harvested in the wild. However, declining catches fell below both Alaska pollock and skipjack tuna by 2023. ==Uses==

Until about 2005 the anchoveta was almost exclusively used for making fishmeal. Peru produces some of the highest quality fishmeal in the world. Since 2005 anchoveta is increasingly used for direct human consumption, as fresh fish, as canned fish or as salted-matured fillets packed in oil. Peruvian canned anchoveta is sold as Peruvian canned sardines. The new use is sometimes called the second anchoveta boom, the first boom being the discovery and subsequent fishery and fishmeal production in the 1960s/70s. The second boom was kick-started by the Peruvian Fish Technology Institute CIP, assisted by FAO. A large scale promotion campaign including by the then-president of Peru Alan García helped to make the anchoveta known to rich and poor alike. Previously it was not considered as food and hardly known among the population. It is now found in supermarkets and served in restaurants. Still, only 1 percent of anchovy catches are used for direct human consumption and 99 percent continue to be rendered into fishmeal and oil. Canned anchovy fillets found commonly in the US are intensely salty and are often removed of skin and bones. Often, they are marked as "Product of Morocco," which are salted-matured anchovy fillets. Canned anchovetas are sometimes marketed with the culinary name "Peruvian sardines" to promote domestic and international consumption, as sardines are usually in higher demand. Recently, new ways of preparation for the anchovetas have been developed in Peru, so new products are already in the international market such as anchoveta chicharrones, anchoveta jerky meat, anchoveta paste, and anchoveta steaks. ==Fishing rights==

The concept of fishing rights varies from country to country. In some countries, fishing rights are imposed, or a required fishing license, while in others, they are based on the underlying concept of resource rent. In this respect, the definition and calculation of fishing rent enables recognition of the payment that the state should receive for the use of a renewable natural resource: in this case anchoveta. The anchoveta fishery is of particular interest, not only because it ranks among the world's largest, but because in 2008 Peru passed the Maximum Catch Limit per Vessel Law (Ley de Límites Máximos de Captura por Embarcación, LMCE), which entails the assignment of resource usage rights. Economic theory holds that the implementation of the resource rent means that it is the maximum possible compared with the open access status that previously existed. If fishery is of open access, there will be no resource rent due to the presence of a very large number of fishing boats, which leads to the extraction of the resource beyond biologically sustainable levels. Meanwhile, if a fishery falls under a regime of assigned property rights, then the rent generated will be positive and will guarantee a biologically and economically efficient level of extraction. Peruvian fishing regulations stipulate a charge for fishing rights as payment for the use of a resource belonging to the nation. Each boat owner is charged for fishing rights based on a percentage of the price of fishmeal per ton landed. Recently there has been debate as to the relevance of the quantity of fish landed and whether this genuinely reflects the resource rent, given that the implementation of LMCEs have prompted an increase in the value of the anchoveta resource. ==References==