Sustainable Fisheries: Multi-Level Approaches to a Global Problem

Innovation, Leadership, and Management of the Peruvian Anchoveta Fishery: Approaching Sustainability

Ivan Orlic

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874219.ch7

Harvested from an area representing less than 0.1% of the ocean’s surface, fisheries landings from the Humboldt Current, off the coast of Peru and Chile, account for 10–15% of the total worldwide marine fish landings (FAO 1998, 2008). With a potential biomass of 15–20 million metric tons (mt), Peruvian anchoveta Engraulis ringens supports the largest single-species fishery in the world (Pauly 1992; Ñiquen et al. 2000). Even though Peruvian anchoveta did not become a commercially exploited species until the 1950s, fishing has played a key role in the country’s development since the beginnings of civilization in the region (Marcus et al. 1999). Since 1950, rapid industry growth and ensuing increases in harvest levels soon led Peru to become one of the largest exporters of fish meal and fish oil in the world (FAO 2008). The second largest industry in Peru after mining, the fishing industry produces about 30–40% of the global production of fish meal and fish oil, worth between US$1.0 and 1.7 billion, annually (Tacon 2003; PRODUCE 2005, 2008a). The anchoveta fishery’s socioeconomic influences extend well beyond providing tens of thousands of jobs in the fishery supply chain, making its sustainability truly critical not only to the local economy at fish ports, but also the Peru’s trade balance and the international markets and industries that depend on the resulting exports (Roemer 1970; Agüero 1996; Deligiannis 2000).

Following the description of oceanographic conditions and management history, this chapter discusses the current policy shift in Peru from a global quota system to allocating harvest to individual vessel quotas, examining whether the intended improvements on fishery profitability, efficiency, resilience, and sustainability have been attained. In addition, a case-study approach is used to analyze the role of entrepreneurial leadership and innovation in the sustainability of the anchoveta industry in Peru, emphasizing not only the technological development of the fishery, but also the role of corporate culture and social responsibility related to the profiled company’s success and performance. The case study focuses on the private enterprise found to be the premier innovator in the industry, examining the various innovations in corporate culture, technology, and corporate social responsibility and their contributions the enterprise’s success.