1 THE PERUVIAN ANCHOVETA SECTOR: COSTS AND BENEFITS. AN ANALYSIS OF RECENT BEHAVIOR AND OF FUTURE CHALLENGES

The paper analyzes the recent behavior of the Peruvian Anchoveta Sector, the largest single stock fishery in the world. It describes the different phases of boom and contraction that it has undergone since the 1960s, and how the lack of adequate regulation allowed –and even fostered – over-investment in the sector during the past 20 years. The unsurprising consequence of this policy regime is that the current size of both the fishing fleet and the processing plants is grossly oversized. Indeed, excess fleet capacity could be in the neighborhood of 60-70%, while the excess processing capacity of the plants is even more dramatic (between 65 % and 80%). The economic costs entailed by this excess capacity are discussed in the paper. Estimates of resource rent loss using a modified version of the Excel program developed for such a purpose within the framework of the World Bank / FAO’s “Rent Drain ” project are presented. This version allows the estimation of rent loss accruing from the fleet’s excess capacity (and ensuing large fixed costs). Using detailed cost structures for fleet and plants, the paper estimates that current aggregate foregone profits amount to US$400 million per year. The last section of the paper identifies and discusses a series of policy options and challenges for reform in the near future, including the adoption of ITQs and institutional change to deal with corruption