South America 



PERU 



Peru occupies a central position in the tuna fisheries of 

 Latin America's west coast » Its geographical location near the 

 richest part of the Humboldt current has enabled the country to 

 develop not only a sizable tuna industry, but to maintain its 

 leadership among the tuna producers of Latin America. 



The Pacific Ocean along the Peruvian coast is known for its 

 rich marine life, ocean currents bringing highly mineralized water 

 from the ocean depths to the surface. These nutrient-rich waters 

 are the basis for a food chain which culminates in the occurrence 

 of large and valuable food fishes, such as bonito, yellowfin, and 

 skipjack. An important link in the food chain is the anchovy 

 ( Engraulis ringeus ) since it constitutes the main food for the 

 various tunas. 



The bonito, found throughout the area in which the coastal 

 current flows, generally follows the migration of the anchovy. In 

 winter the anchovy is spread over a wide area but during spring 

 and summer it is found close inshore, since the warm oceanic waters 

 force it into the narrow band of cold water along the coast. At 

 this time landings of bonito are largest. The yellowfin and the 

 commercially less important skipjack migrate from the open sea into 

 coastal water. These tunas are found more frequently along the 

 northern and southern Peruvian coasts than along the central part. 



Before the 19^0 decade the Peruvian tuna fisheries were poor- 

 ly developed and lacked adequate vessels, gear, skilled fishermen, 

 ports, and processing facilities. Expansion was stimulated in 1942 

 by UNRAA's request for additional production (75 percent tuna in 

 brine and 25 percent ' -.nned tuna in oil) to supply European war areas 

 with much needed animal protein f ood » The fishing industry was only 

 partially able to meet UMRAA's demands, since it still lacked re- 

 frigeration plants, canning plants, tinplate, and oil. 



Despite these early limitations, production of tuna and tuna- 

 like fishes increased steadily and by 1951 was over 131,000,000 

 pounds. Domestic consumption of tuna products also increased » Most 

 of the bonito consumed locally is in the fresh state; about 10 to 12 

 percent of the total production of canned bonito is also absorbed in 



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