Anchovy fisheries moving from Paita towards Chicama. (Photo: Stock File/FIS)

Anchovy moving towards the south

PERU
Friday, May 11, 2012, 23:50 (GMT + 9)

The ocean warming caused a southward shift from the anchovy catch area between Paita (Piura) and Pisco (Ica), said oceanographer at the Instituto del Mar del Peru (Imarpe), Carmen Grados.

"We can note that the anchovy fishery which lies between Paita and Pisco has shifted slightly to the area between Chicama (La Libertad) and Pisco, which means there is a shift to the south," the scientist told Canal N.

"With the sea warming the balance of the food chain is broken by reducing the levels of plankton and thereby the migration of species such as the anchovy, living in surface waters, is produced and it affects the fishing activity," she said, according to RPP.

Anyway, Grados clarified that there is still no scientific point to forecast a new modification of fishing quotas due to the current sea status.

The expert explained that since mid-February, 2012 to date, there has been an increase in sea water temperature due to weak changeable coastal winds, and to the presence of Kelvin waves pushing the warm waters towards Peru.

"These waves heat the sea and generate anomalies at a depth ranging between 100 and 300 meters," she pointed out.

They are temporary changes so the oceanographer dismissed the occurrence of El Niño event: "We are monitoring all the time to see the evolution of these present anomalies," she told Gestión.

According to Grados, this temporary situation explains the death of dolphins and pelicans in the country.

Finally, she said that the cruise that set sail to analyze the hake status found there was a coastal stretch within 30 kilometers off the coast that presented normal conditions.

Related article:

- Is El Niño linked to mass dolphin and pelican mortalities?

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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