The Humboldt II Project, with support from the UNDP Program, seeks to ensure the optimal and sustainable exploitation of this vital resource

Chile and Peru strengthen collaboration on shared anchovy stock management

CHILE
Wednesday, September 10, 2025, 01:00 (GMT + 9)

Binational Humboldt II Project advances with new data exchange protocol, aiming to enhance sustainable fishing in a critical marine ecosystem

VIÑA DEL MAR — In a major step toward binational fisheries management, marine experts from Peru and Chile finalized a new data exchange protocol for their shared anchovy stock. The workshop, held from September 1 to 5, 2025, in Viña del Mar, was part of the Humboldt II Project, a collaboration executed by Chile's Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SUBPESCA) and Peru's Ministry of Production (PRODUCE), and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The initiative aims to standardize scientific methods to better understand and manage the anchovy stock, a crucial resource that supports the Humboldt Current Large Marine Ecosystem (HCLME). According to Gonzalo Pereira, Executive Director of Chile's Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP), the new protocol will facilitate the analysis of the shared stock. This is a critical development, as both nations have historically managed their portions of the stock independently, with differing methodologies.

Alejandro Gertosio, Binational Coordinator of the Humboldt II Project, said: "This is the second workshop on the standardization of biological-fisheries data collection, and one of our aspirations for the project is to facilitate technical bodies in achieving the standardization of biological-fisheries data collection for anchovy in the study area in both countries. In this way, the coordinated work of the five GTBs aims to support Peru and Chile in improving the optimal exploitation of fishing resources, in this case, anchovy."

Dr. Marilú Bouchon, General Director of Pelagic Research at IMARPE, highlighted that participating in this workshop "fills us with joy and pride because both countries are advancing in standardized mechanisms for the exchange of scientific data and methodologies to be able to evaluate the anchovy in a way that allows for the sustainable use of the stock and also strengthens ties between the two institutions. It's something that helps both countries."

Carola Hernández, Senior Researcher at IFOP and head of the Chilean delegation, noted: "This workshop is the continuation of the first workshop held in Lima in June of this year, where the methodologies and sampling procedures for data collection were reviewed. The importance of this second workshop is that it allows us to formalize the exchange of biological-fisheries data through protocols that establish the data and/or information to be exchanged, its structure and descriptors, and the responsible parties and delivery dates."

The workshop, a follow-up to a previous meeting in Lima, focused on formalizing the protocols for sharing data on biological indicators, catch per unit of effort, and age and growth. The work is crucial for the ongoing acoustic surveys used to estimate the anchovy biomass, a key metric for setting quotas and ensuring the long-term health of what is considered the world's largest single-species fishery. The Humboldt II Project, with the backing of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), seeks to ensure the optimal and sustainable exploitation of this vital resource, which is also a major driver of global fishmeal and fish oil production.

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