Thousands of dead sardines and anchovies washed up on a Chile beach in the country’s Bio Bio Region.
Environmental officials are investigating water quality in the region, off the coast of Coliumo peninsula, to determine the cause of the incident.
Some locals are pointing to low oxygen levels in deeper waters as the reason for the deaths, with fish having to swim closer to the shore in search of oxygen nutrients.
Anchovy (Engraulis ringens) is a small pelagic fish (lives on the surface of the ocean) in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and is regularly caught off the coasts of Peru and Chile. They have a short but productive life cycle, living up to four years.
The anchovy is distributed along the southeast Pacific coast from Ecuador to southern Chile and comprises of four separate stocks.
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Chile and Peru manage these stocks independently, but both countries are looking for their long-term conservation. Peru has two seasons per year to establish fishing quotas based on effective monitoring through seasonal surveys that estimate abundance. Additional oceanographic information is also collected.
The Peruvian fishery management agency (PRODUCE) allocates the seasonal fishing quota, but there is no clear harvest control rule established. Chile, on the other hand, manages the
anchovy fishing stocks through indirect stock assessments that are cross-checked with surveys.
The Chilean fishing administration has clearly defined reference points, and the allocated quotas aim to move fisheries towards maximum sustainable yield (MSY), where it is possible to define a clear harvest control rule. Both countries monitor fisheries management measures.
(With inputs from agencies)
