Artisanal Marine Fisheries and Climate Change in the Region of Lima, Peru
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Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics Volume 7 Issue 1 Article 2 Artisanal Marine Fisheries and Climate Change in the Region of Lima, Peru Edelina Coayla Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal Follow this and additional works at: https://cbe.miis.edu/joce Part of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, and the Regional Economics Commons Recommended Citation Coayla, Edelina () "Artisanal Marine Fisheries and Climate Change in the Region of Lima, Peru," Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15351/2373-8456.1122 This Research Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Center for the Blue Economy. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Center for the Blue Economy. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Coayla: Artisanal Marine Fisheries and Climate Change 1. INTRODUCTION We are living in a time of climate change, and no part of the ocean is unaffected by human influence; in particular, some areas close to population centers, are greatly affected by multiple pressures (Vierros, 2017). According to FAO (2018) and Perrings (2016), more than two thirds of all fish stocks are being exploited at or beyond their maximum sustainable production levels. The declining health of the oceans has consequences for people's livelihoods and the entire economy, and it is the poorest communities dependent on maritime resources that tend to be affected the most. In 2016, world marine fishing production was 79.3 million tons (FAO, 2018). The FAO projects that by 2050, climate change will have altered the productivity of many of the planet’s marine and freshwater fisheries, affecting the livelihoods of millions of the world's poorest people. The impacts are associated with changes in water temperature, pH levels, and ocean circulation patterns, resulting in rising sea levels, severe storms, and heavy rainfall while causing changes of distribution and productivity among fish species (Barange et al., 2018). In turn, fish landings reflect the oceans’ productive capacity, as well as management decisions made in response to changes thereto. In Peru, artisanal marine fishery in the 2004-2017 period represented an annual average of 19 percent of total landings. This is important because it the fishery products it provides for human consumption contributes to food security. This artisanal fishery is also a source of employment and income. However, artisanal fishermen are vulnerable both economically and at risk from climate change. According to IMARPE (2018) this activity extends along the coast, making use of an arts and extraction methods variety depending on the target species, seasonality, type of vessel and the innate ingenuity of the artisanal fisherman. The most notable factors of climatic variability in the Southeast Pacific fisheries are the ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation), the DOP (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) and the SVP (Secular Variability of the Pacific). The processes of population dynamics of resources, such as recruitment, growth, natural and fishing mortality, are permanently affected, at different intensities and scalar frequencies (Espino and Yamashiro, 2012). The proportion of anchoveta landings in the Peruvian fishery has varied from a third in the 80's to about 90% in the 2000’s. Anchoveta landings predominated in the 60’s, first half of the 70’s, 90’s and 2000’s. However, the sardine stood out in the landings of the 80’s (Espino & Yamashiro, 2012). Small-scale fishers are exposed to the direct repercussions of climate change because, generally, they live in settlements close to the sea; properties and infrastructure run the risk of damage from direct destructive factors such as rising sea levels and storms of increasing Published by Digital Commons @ Center for the Blue Economy, 1 Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics, Vol. 7, Iss. 1 [], Art. 2 frequency and intensity (Daw et al., 2009). This also compounds the hazards involved in maritime activities, while changes in climate patterns alter fishing practices founded on traditional knowledge of local weather conditions and ocean currents. Internationally, Lan et al. (2016) analyze unique long-term records of gray mullet catch rates in the Taiwan Strait, finding that they correspond fairly well with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, the Oceanic Niño Index, and rising sea surface temperatures caused by climate change, which might have affected the species’ abundance and migration behavior in the strait. According to The IPCC, climatic threats in the fishing sector are variations in the Sea Surface Temperature (SST); increases in the average sea level (which the Ministry of the Environment predicts will rise by between 60 and 80 cm by 2100); and extreme climatic events such as flooding, intense rainfalls, landslides, mudslides, and rogue waves. According to Nunoo et al. (2016), Ghana’s fisheries sector plays an important role in socioeconomic development linked to food security, employment, GDP, and foreign exchange, but there is a dependence on fishery products for livelihood and poverty reduction similar to Peru. Artisanal fishers employ gear such as purse seine, gill, and lobster nets. According to Øistein and Hoel (2013), climate change and variability causes changes to marine ecosystems, and to the growth and geographical distribution of live marine resources. Successful management of live marine resources will depend on the capacity of management regimes to be adaptable and flexible. While climate change can manifest itself in the geographical distribution of fish stocks and disturbed ecosystems, the changes are not only biological but also political, in terms of the management of opportunities to utilize live marine resources. The Humboldt Current System (HCS) is the world's most productive marine ecosystem in terms of fish caught, and climate is considered to be the most important driving factor (Barange et al., 2018: 349). On average, 9.35 million tons of marine fish, mollusks, and crustaceans were landed each year in Chile and Peru over the period 2005-2015, though there was a notable downward trend. The two main species landed were the Peruvian anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) and the Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi). The region of northern and central Peru accounted for 75 percent of the total catch, while southern Peru and northern Chile represented nearly 20 percent. Climate change could cause a shift in the HCS away from favoring fish productivity, while El Niño events could increase in frequency (Barange et al., 2018). Porobic et al. (2019) study a vulnerable marine ecosystem located off the central Chilean coast, formed by the Juan Fernández Archipelago and a group of seamounts. In this system, two fleets have historically operated: a long-term artisanal coastal fishery https://cbe.miis.edu/joce/vol7/iss1/2 DOI: 10.15351/2373-8456.1122 2 Coayla: Artisanal Marine Fisheries and Climate Change associated with the archipelago and centered primarily on lobster; and an industrial demersal finfish fishery operating on the seamounts, presently considered overexploited. The seasonal variability in the Peruvian sea ecosystem is due to southeast trade winds that are weak in summer and strong in winter, and unusually warm periods known as "El Niño" cause many species, particularly the Peruvian anchoveta, to migrate to other latitudes; warm and cold divergent ocean currents make the Peruvian sea one of the most biodiverse and productive in the world (Martín et al., 2014). In February and March 2017 the El Niño phenomenon located off the coast of Peru caused heavy rains in the northern part of the country, and due to altered oceanographic conditions the Humboldt current (ascent of very cold deep waters) halted, sea temperatures increased from an average of 16–17 ° C up to 28 ° C (Kluger et al., 2018). The focus on climate change and variation is justified by the fact that economic activities in or around the oceans have increased exponentially (Vierros, 2017), and this, coupled with climate change and variability, threatens the regeneration of marine resources while also reducing the volume of fish landed in the ports of Lima region and impacting the livelihoods of artisanal fishers. The research topic is important because climate change affects the health of the oceans and, thus, the extraction of marine resources; as such, policymakers in the fisheries sector implement adaptation measures for the sustainability of both marine biodiversity and the standard of living of artisanal fishers from the Lima region and Peru. Our aim in this study is to analyze the effects of climate change on the artisanal marine fishing economy in the Lima region, and to explore climate change adaptation measures. 2. METHODS Spatial and temporal scope: The study focuses on artisanal marine fishery resources in the region of Lima, Peru, and how they are affected by climate change. Material: Information centers and documentation: Statistics from the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM) Ministry of Production (PRODUCE), National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI), Peruvian Institute of the Sea (IMARPE). Data collection techniques: Secondary information compiled from the Statistical Yearbooks of Fisheries for the period 2013-2017 (PRODUCE), the Statistical Compendium of Lima-Provinces 2014 (INEI) and, from IMARPE about artisanal fisheries and climate change in the region of Lima (2004- Published by Digital Commons @ Center for the Blue Economy, 3 Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics, Vol. 7, Iss. 1 [], Art. 2 2017). Primary information using a questionnaire addressed to artisanal fishermen framed to the largest annual landing of marine resources by port in the Lima region that turned out to be the port of Chancay (it does not consider the ports of Lima Metropolitana) in the study period. In July 2017, after the 2017 summer El Niño event, a survey was conducted to the fishermen affiliated with the artisanal fishermen's union of the Chancay port who attended the assembly of the union in the same port.