Sawt Falasteen - El Nino hammering Peru anchovy fishing: industry officials

Anchoveta is a key ingredient in fishmeal, which is used to make animal feed and organic fertilizer, with Peru catching 1.3 million metric tons of the small, silver fish in May last year, according to government data.

But this year's El Nino phenomenon -- which scientists predict will be the biggest in over a century -- has been blamed for warming sea surface temperatures and forcing the creatures to cooler seas.

Peru caught just 32,800 metric tons of anchovies in May this year, and is one of a string of Latin American countries to declare an emergency over the weather pattern.

El Nino raises surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, generating global changes in winds and rainfall as well as erratic weather conditions.

Scientists predict the current occurrence will reach its peak by the end of the year and cause record global heat in 2027.

Accustomed to cold waters, anchovy have migrated to deeper waters, said the Institute of the Sea of Peru (IMARPE), which recorded temperatures up to 6C higher than normal in some areas.

"It's a devastating blow to the sector," said Jessica Luna, president of Peru's National Fisheries Society, which represents industry stakeholders.

- Job losses -

The group commissioned a study that found fishing and related industries will account for 1.1 percent of Peru's gross domestic product this year, down from 2.1 percent in 2025.

On the gray waters of Callao port near Peru's capital Lima, an AFP journalist saw dozens of anchovy fishing boats anchored on Monday.

In Chimbote, Peru's main fishing city around 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Lima, the story is the same.

Fisherman Santiago Bocanegra said some members of his Jose Olaya union are now "working in public transport, construction or in the mines."

Industrial fishing boats have not ventured out to sea since May, months before the government officially ended the anchovy fishing season on August 19, according to union representatives who lamented the lack of fish.

Peru counts about 8,000 registered industrial fishermen, but the sector is also a big employer on land.

"We usually create 250,000 jobs" but "122,000 will be lost" by next year, said Luna from the National Fisheries Society.

A second fishing season normally starts in November, but that looks uncertain.

"We already know from the projections," Luna said, "El Nino comes into full force that month."

C.Hamad--SF-PST