Escondido en la profundidad: destapando la verdad sobre la descomunal industria peruana del pienso y aceite de pescado

The report exposes the Peruvian fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) industry as unsustainable, citing widespread corruption, overfishing of juvenile anchovies, and poor worker safety during the Covid-19 pandemic. It maps the supply chain from Peruvian producers like TASA and Austral Group to major European feed companies (e.g., Skretting, BioMar) and retailers (e.g., Aldi, Tesco, Sainsbury), arguing that sustainability certifications like MarinTrust are ineffective 'greenwashing'. The document calls for the global aquaculture sector to phase out FMFO by 2025 to protect marine ecosystems, particularly the Humboldt Current.

• Peru is the world's largest producer of fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO), accounting for one-third of global production and exporting over one million tonnes annually.
• The Peruvian anchovy fishery is the largest single-species fishery globally; in 2018, 6,053,201 metric tonnes of anchovy were landed for FMFO, an 88% increase from the previous year.
• Major Peruvian FMFO producers TASA and Austral Group are linked to unsustainable practices, including the overfishing of juvenile anchovies and the under-reporting of catches.
• The report maps a supply chain where FMFO from TASA is sold to European feed giants such as EWOS/Cargill, Skretting, and BioMar, which then supply major retailers including Aldi, Marks & Spencer, and REWE.
• Norwegian salmon giant Mowi obtained 40.2% of its fish oil from Peruvian and Chilean anchovies in 2019, and is a sole supplier to the UK retailer Sainsbury.
• The MarinTrust certification is described as flawed for certifying companies involved in corruption, under-reporting catches, and overfishing juveniles.
• Between 2012 and 2018, there was an annual discrepancy of approximately 46,000 tonnes of 'ghost' fishmeal, where recorded exports exceeded production.
• During the 2020 fishing season, FMFO companies TASA and Austral Group allegedly violated health protocols, leading to widespread Covid-19 infections; at TASA's Vegueta plant, 76% of unionized workers were infected, and 48% at the Samanco plant.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2020). Escondido en la profundidad: destapando la verdad sobre la descomunal industria peruana del pienso y aceite de pescado. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/What_Lies_Beneath_Executive_Summary_SPANISH.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. Escondido en la profundidad: destapando la verdad sobre la descomunal industria peruana del pienso y aceite de pescado. 2020. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/What_Lies_Beneath_Executive_Summary_SPANISH.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=Escondido en la profundidad: destapando la verdad sobre la descomunal industria peruana del pienso y aceite de pescado |date=November 2020 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/What_Lies_Beneath_Executive_Summary_SPANISH.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2020escondido, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{Escondido en la profundidad: destapando la verdad sobre la descomunal industria peruana del pienso y aceite de pescado}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/What_Lies_Beneath_Executive_Summary_SPANISH.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }