Por la Pesca Alliance

We promote formal, responsible and sustainable fishing in the main artisanal fisheries of Peru and Ecuador

It is estimated that 1 of 5 species caught in the sea come from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This threatens the sustainability of artisanal fisheries, the associated biodiversity, our food security, and the resilience of coastal communities. In response, the Por la Pesca Alliance emerged as a coalition made up of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), REDES – Sostenibilidad Pesquera (REDES-SP), ProDelphinus (PD), Future of Fish (FoF), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), under the leadership of the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA). With support from the Walton Family Foundation (WFF), the Alliance also took on the implementation of the USAID-funded project, “Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing in Peru and Ecuador (Por la Pesca),” carried out between October 2022 and January 2025. During this period, WildAid joined the Alliance as a partner. Through a systems-based approach, Por la Pesca leveraged the complementary strengths of its partners to promote sustainable and profitable fishing practices, while significantly reducing IUU fishing across key artisanal fisheries in Peru and Ecuador. To advance these goals, the Alliance implemented a set of five integrated strategies:

• Facilitating and reducing bottlenecks to formalization of fishers and their organizations with clear socioeconomic benefits. 
• Empowering and strengthening the capacity of fisher organizations and other key value-chain actors. 
• Leveraging market demand for seafood from formal and responsible fisheries to incentivize better fishing practices. 
• Providing technical support to key government agencies and private sector actors to improve data-sharing and transparency for decision-making. 
• Promoting science-based and participatory fisheries policies and regulations and providing technical assistance to national and sub-national authorities to support enforcement. 

As a result, the Por la Pesca Alliance helped safeguard marine ecosystem health while strengthening the well-being and resilience of thousands of people and families who rely, directly and indirectly, on artisanal fisheries for their livelihoods.