Peru increases quota for anchovies

Peruvian authorities have announced that the quota for the second anchovy fishing season in the North-Centre of Peru is bigger than first guided, at 1.63 million tonnes.

Oil-rich anchovies are regarded as the gold standard for inclusion in feed for salmon and other farmed fish.

“This quota is well above the provisional quota set on November 1 and signals a science-based approach for the world’s largest single species fishery, which produces 20% of global fishmeal in an average year,” said Dr Enrico Bachis, market research director for marine ingredients organisation IFFO.

“The biological survey completed a few days ago places the quota in line with the one granted for the last quarter in 2023 but below the one authorised in quarter IV 2024.

“Our projections for the 2025 global production remain at 5.6 million tonnes of fishmeal and 1.2-1.3 million tonnes of fish oil.”

Fishmeal and oil production up

Data based on statistics shared by IFFO members in Chile, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Norway, the UK, the US, Peru, South Africa and Spain, shows that by September 2025, the total cumulative annual fishmeal production rose by approximately 8% compared to the same period in 2024.

The increase was driven by higher output in most regions, except for Iceland and North Atlantic area which reported year-on-year declines.

Cumulative fish oil output through September 2025 showed a year-on-year increase of around 6%. Most countries recorded positive trends compared to January-September 2024, with the exception of Spain and Peru. When it comes to Peru, lower oil yields during the recent fishing season played a significant role in the overall decline.