El Nino leaves Peru's northern fishing families pleading for help as catches collapse

El Nino Hits Fishing Communities

Thousands of fishing families along Peru’s northern Piura coast say they are facing one of their worst crises in years, as El Nino’s warmer waters drive anchoveta, or Peruvian anchovy, and other species to colder waters.

Both industrial and artisanal fishing have been hit, with local reports estimating that some fishermen’s incomes have fallen by as much as 96 percent.

Footage filmed in Paita on Wednesday shows fishermen at work, with only meagre catches to show for their efforts.

Fishermen Struggle With Losses

Artisanal fisherman Cesar Silva Nole described the impact of El Nino as “a tragedy.” “It is practically going to leave us with nothing,” he said.

“It is very harmful, for example for us, for the family budget, for health, education, because now even our children are studying at university and that is hurting us a lot,” he added.

Fisherman Humberto Flores Panta appealed to president-elect Keiko Fujimori for support.

“With this El Nino phenomenon, our request to the new authorities is to Mrs Keiko Fujimori to support artisanal fishing because we are going through a very difficult moment, very difficult. And now we truly do need help because our family is facing a very, very serious situation,” he said.

Rising Temperatures Affect Seas

Armando Ugaz, a biologist at the National University of Piura, said sea surface temperatures had risen from the usual 18 to 19 degrees Celsius to around 22 or 23 degrees at this time of year.

“The real impact on temperature of the El Nino phenomenon is super, super worrying because it has increased the normal temperature we have here in Piura by four degrees… and it is definitely causing these schools to move to other areas,” he noted.

The disruption is threatening livelihoods across Peru’s fishing industry, which supports more than 400,000 jobs nationwide, including over 300,000 indirect roles.

Article by Viory