The Humboldt Current drives northwards along Peru’s Pacific coast. The upwelling it generates in the tropical waters of the country’s northern shores has immense value for fisheries. Its vast relevance is not new to this publication; a previous article dwelt on the extraordinary diversity of fishing techniques, especially in coastal waters, to tap the bounty of this current (see SAMUDRA Report No.77, September 2017).

The number of fishing boats has risen constantly over the past decades. More recently, Peru has witnessed a significant increase in distantwater artisanal fleets targeting mahi mahi or giant squid. There has been a concomitant increase in fishing pressure in the area within five nautical miles off the coast, with the presence of purse-seiners using mechanical devices to haul the nets. The five-mile strip has been protected since 1992, with specific exclusion of any type of purse-seines. Since 1995 only industrial fleets have been excluded. But there has been a presence of industrial fishing boats within the five-mile zone on at least three occasions, the last being in 2011, off the southern parts of the country