- A scientific cruise conducted by Imarpe in 2014 to assess Peruvian anchovy stocks found serious contradictions in the methodology used and failures to strictly follow the approved protocol. - The estimated biomass of 1.45 million tons was likely an underestimate given moderate El Niño conditions and the inadequacy of acoustic assessment methods in such conditions. - Imarpe failed to comply with its own 2009 protocol which recommends 200-600 trawl hauls to reduce biases, conducting only 165 trawl sets and 55 purse seine sets, resulting in very low total catches that call the reliability of the results into question.

1. RIPLEY !! .. In Peru 3.2 million tonnes of anchovy are extinguished
Imarpe in summer 2014, estimated biomass of 6.6 million tonnes of anchovy and 7 months
after claims that there is only 1.45 million tonnes of anchovy.
The scientific cruise north-central, conducted by the Instituto del Mar del Peru, Imarpe
between August and October of this year, to assess the resource Peruvian Anchovy showed
serious contradictions not only in the method used, also by failing to comply strictly with
the protocol, approved and published in his newsletter. Amazing, even more, the estimated
biomass, whose figure would really underestimated due to the conditions of moderate El
Niño event, it is the lowest observed during the last decade.
It is worth mentioning that the method of hydroacoustic assessment (using a scientific echo
sounder echo-integrator), used in circumstances Sea suffers a slight warming of the surface
and subsurface temperature (rated Child Moderate), and even more so if we add the entry of
a train kelvin waves to evaluate the anchovy is inadequate because some of the schools
deepen, spread, stick to the coast or migrate to other areas, in this case the south. Then we
can say, that would have occurred undervaluation of biomass for the stock assessment, as
happened in 1987, 1999 and other years, whose catches were higher than the established
biomass without causing depredation and the following years catches were very good.
Now about the protocol. Imarpe in 2009 published the "Technical Protocol for Evaluating
Acoustic Areas of Distribution and Abundance of Pelagic Resources" - Report vol. 36 1-2;
which recommends 200 to 600 trawl hauls to reduce biases commonly associated with
acoustic evaluation; however, the scientific body in breach of paragraph 4.2 of the protocol,
husk in his own rule and suspiciously at the BIC Olaya cruise- from August to October
2014, only 165 sets of test conducted by trawl, also using two boats bolicheras smaller
scale IMARPE IV and IMARPE V, made 55 coves with purse seines (36 and 19 sets),

2. resulting in 220 fishing operations, resulting in a total catch of only 15. 29 tons (of which
only 5 tons were anchovy); that is, an average of less than 70 kilos per fishing trip, or less
than 25 kilos of anchovy for slaughter, volume than any handmade craft can capture only 1
to 2 coves. So, the question falls mature Can trust a result with small fishing catches test ?.
On the other hand, Imarpe knows, that fully met the protocol required to check if catches
are minimal, you must repeat these sets also for transparency must publish screenshots haul
by haul, including biological sampling and the number of specimens sampled. Moreover,
the scientific body does not say who was responsible for the evaluation and is
recommending a long ban, which makes one wonder when we read page 32 of the report,
which states that 40% of stomach contents Anchovy sampled Anchovy eggs were. This
Christian is, Anchovy under current conditions is preying or cannibalizing their own
species.
It is worth remembering that Imarpe on the cruise conducted in the summer, beginning of
2014 was estimated at approximately a biomass of 6.6 million tonnes; however, in its report
of October 3, states that the estimated biomass is 1.45 million tons, assuming
contradictorily, that the action more than 5 million tons was reduced, with the catch in that
period, less than 2 million.
So if biomass NO HAS INCREASED 1 KILO (not logical to believe), and catches were 1.8
million should have in our Sea over 3.2 million tonnes of anchovy. What happened to the
resource ?, was dispersed or was undervalued? How much of this resource has stuck to the
coast and has migrated to southern Peru ?. If the latter, his capture would be difficult out of
seven miles, as regulated current Peruvian fisheries legislation, unlike Chile whose law
allows you catch from mile 1, as demonstrated by high volumes captures north of Arica-
Chile, according to statistics from the FIFG.
In conclusion, in the north-central area practically have "disappeared more than 3 million
tons Anchovies".