Last updated January 20, 2016 FIP Stage
Implementation
Species
Mahi mahi (Coryphaena
hippurus)

© Diego Perez / WWF Peru
Fishery Background
- Volume – 58,961 mt (2012)
- Gear type – Surface longline
- Location – Territorial waters of Peru (Economic
Exclusive Zone) and international waters
FIP Stakeholders
Some of the stakeholders in this
FIP include: WWF, the Ministry of Production (PRODUCE),the Peruvian Institute
of the Sea (IMARPE), the Integration and Unification of Peruvian Artisanal
Fishers Federation (FIUPAP), , ADEX (Peruvian Exporters Association) and
the Artisanal Vessel Owners Association for Direct Human Consumption
Paita (AAARCUDIPA). WWF and IMARPE
have signed an MOU to work together to advance sustainable fisheries in
Peru, including the mahi mahi fishery.
Project Background
The Peru mahi mahi FIP process
began in 2012 with the completion of a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
pre-assessment (December 2012). Following the pre-assessment, a FIP scoping
document was developed, which includes potential strategies for addressing
the deficiencies identified in the pre-assessment. In March 2013, WWF in
coordination with PROMPERU held a FIP stakeholder meeting in Lima, Peru to
discuss the pre-assessment and to develop a FIP Action Plan, which
describes the necessary FIP activities, with associated responsible parties
and timeframes, required to meet the MSC standard.
A FIP Action Plan Proposal was
developed for the Peruvian mahi mahi fishery in July 2013 based on the
results of the FIP Stakeholder meeting. WWF Peru conducted a stakeholder
consultation process to share the Action Plan Proposal with relevant
stakeholders and incorporate their feedback into the plan. In September
2013, WWF held workshops in Paita, the main mahi mahi fishing port in Peru,
and in Pucusana, another important mahi mahi port. Fishers, government and
private sector representatives, and NGOs attended the workshops and
provided input on the Action Plan Proposal. The workshops also helped to
strengthen relationships with key stakeholders in the FIP. Based on input from
stakeholders, the Action Plan was finalized in November 2013, and implementation
of the FIP began.
Deficiencies Raised in the
Pre-Assessment (completed in 2012)
In the pre-assessment, a number
of MSC performance indicators (PIs) were scored such that the fishery would
likely either fail under an MSC full assessment (score less than 60) or
pass with conditions (score between 60 and 80), including the uncertainty
regarding the status of the mahi mahi stock; lack of a formal harvest
strategy; lack of data regarding catch and discard of incidental species;
lack of data on interactions with endangered, threatened, and protected
(ETP) species; lack of an effective management strategy at the national
level; and lack of an international management system in place for the mahi
mahi fishery, which is important, given the highly migratory nature of mahi
mahi. For more information, please see the pre-assessment summary.
The FIP Action Plan includes activities designed to address these
deficiencies in the fishery to achieve a level of sustainability consistent
with an unconditional pass of the MSC standard. Key Accomplishments
The work done by FIP stakeholders to date has resulted in
the following accomplishments: - WWF Peru
and IMARPE developed a log-book that was distributed to fishermen in Paita (one
of the main mahi mahi ports) in January 2013 to test as a pilot project during
the 2013-2014 fishing season;
- WWF Peru
launched a video in collaboration with the Peruvian film company Taller.pe that
highlights the mahi mahi fishery in Paita and promotes the sustainability of
mahi mahi. The video, called “¿Qué pasa perico?” (“What’s up, mahi mahi?”), is
in Spanish with English subtitles and is being distributed widely in Peru. A
press release about the video as well as a link to it can be found here: http://peru.panda.org/en/?214035/whatsupmahimahi; and
- WWF and
IMARPE finalized an agreement in February 2014 in which IMARPE will collect
biological and catch data from the mahi mahi fishery in the ports of Paita and
Pucusana for the remainder of the 2014 fishing season.
Next Steps
Several FIP activities still
need to be completed by FIP stakeholders in order for the fishery to be
ready to enter MSC full assessment. Some of these activities include:
- Establishing an international Working Group for the
Assessment of Mahi Mahi to develop stock assessment procedures to
assess the mahi mahi stock;
- Developing monitoring procedures to collect
fisheries independent and fisheries dependent data at the Peruvian
national level and at the international level to inform the stock
assessment;
- Implementing an international management commitment
for mahi mahi, conducting an international stock assessment, and
establishing a consistent harvest strategy and harvest control rules
based on reference points and limits;
- Implementing a long term observer program to
monitor fishery interaction with endangered, threatened, protected
(ETP) species, retained species, and by-catch species;
- Training fishermen in sea turtle and sea bird
bycatch handling procedures and implementing a code of conduct
detailing handling procedures at the fleet level that should be monitored
through the observer program;
- Developing a management
strategy to ensure the fishery does not pose an unacceptable impact to
ETP species;
- Strengthening and enforcing the monitoring,
control, and surveillance mechanisms that currently exist;
- Developing a national and international research
plan for mahi mahi; and
- Implementing an internal auditing system and
external review cycle for monitoring and evaluating the performance of
the fishery specific management system.
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