Support for the reform and modernization of Peruvian fishing

Piero Ghezzi Solis, Minister of Production (Produce), and Eleonora Silva Pardo, Director Representative of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, subscribed the cooperation agreement called "Reform and modernization of Peru's fishing policy". 

The main objective of this cooperation is to contribute to the modernization of the regulatory and institutional framework of Peru's fishing sector, focusing on the potentials of the two main species in the country: anchovies and cuttlefish. 

As a result of the operation, experts will analyze and propose improvements for the definition of guidelines for the modernization and better institutional coordination of the fishing sector, fishing rights for the extraction of anchovies, the evaluation and reform of the cuttlefish regulatory framework, as well as the definition of guidelines for the use of the resources resulting from the new fishing royalties regime. 

Minister Guezzi stated that the technical cooperation provided by CAF will help support the Plan Nacional de Diversificación Productiva (National Productive Diversification Plan), whose main objective is to generate "new drivers" for the country's production growth. 

The Minister also stated "we are looking for Peru to march on the path of economic development and to enter the virtuous circle of institutions that make better policies.  In this regard, we are absorbed in the National Productive Diversification Plan and, in addition, we want to provide more drivers to growth, and some of them could be for the fishing sector  for products such as the cuttlefish and aquiculture. In addition, we clearly need to finish the fishing organization process and CAF's cooperation in this area is essential". 

After stating that this support is part of CAF's productive transformation agenda, Silva Pardo noted that the subscription of this agreement will enable Produce to have the necessary elements to carry out an institutional reform that allows for the sector's modernization as well as having fishing policy recommendations for their implementation 

She pointed out that "The fishing industry in Peru is based on products such as fishmeal and oil, the most important export items in the country, and two thirds of it comes from the extraction of anchovies, so the definition of fishing rights for this resource is vitally important to be able to finance the fishing management systems for the development of the sector in the country. At the same time, being able to develop a diagnostic of the current state of cuttlefish fishing in economic and social terms, as well from the point of view of the sustainable development of the resource, will allow for a more efficient and sustainable exploitation of this kind of fishing".