Pesquera Centinela owns at least 10 vessels associated with fishing for the raw ingredients that go into producing fishmeal, according to the Friend of the Sea vessel database from December 2024. Information about vessels can also be found on Peru’s Ministry of Production’s online vessel consultation service.1 The company also owns at least three fish processing plants in Peru.
Planta Chancay:
Planta Tambo de Mora:
Three fishmeal plants operated by Pesquera Centinela were certified under the MarinTrust Global Standard for Responsible Supply between 2015 and 2027.2 This program requires plants holding the certification to source fish that have been legally caught.3 Pesquera Centinela was also certified by Friend of the Sea between 2018 and 2026. This program requires fishing vessels to respect local and national fishing regulations.4 These certifications seem in tension with the behavior of ships and plants that are part of Pesquera Centinela’s supply chain. At least five ships owned or otherwise tied to Pesquera Centinela reportedly engaged in a range of illegal fishing infractions between 2019 and 2024, according to an investigation by The Outlaw Ocean Project.5 Pesquera Centinela’s fleet of ships were involved in at least six cases of illegal fishing including underreporting catches, exceeding catch limits, and invading marine protected areas. Additionally, Pesquera Centinela was the target of at least two cases of civil unrest in 2023 and 2024. Earlier, a plant owned by Pesquera Centinela dumped wastewater into Chancay, contributing to a marine die-off event in 2014.
In November 2024, at least 500 demonstrators gathered in Chimbote to protest against fishmeal companies, including Pesquera Centinela, after they reduced anchovy prices from $350 per metric ton in the previous fishing season to $250 per metric ton.6
The company has a well-documented pattern of its ships engaging in illegal fishing, a review of court documents and other government records showed. In particular, Pesquera Centinela’s ships had reportedly fished illegally restricted areas, misdeclared their catch, and caught banned quantities of juvenile fish.7 Between January 2020 and March 2025, at least one vessel owned by Pesquera Centinela fished in marine protected areas, according to satellite data analyzed by OceanMind and ProtectedSeas. Each incursion lasted at least five hours and they happened more than 12 times. The protected areas targeted included Punta Atica. Fishing in Peru’s marine protected areas is generally illegal for industrial vessels and only allowed for small‑scale fishers under strict, area‑specific permits.8
The following is a summary of noteworthy incidents involving Pesquera Centinela ships or fishmeal plants:
The Region Chavin II: On May 6, 2024, this ship was sanctioned for underreporting juvenile anchovy catch and catching more than the permitted amount. Consequently, over 42,000 tons of anchovy were seized from the ship and Pesquera Centinela was required to pay the commercial value of the confiscated fish.9
The Susán VI: On February 5, 2019, this ship under-reported its juvenile anchovy catch, and Pesquera Centinela was required to pay a fine.10
The María I: On February 5, 2019, this ship also under-reported its juvenile anchovy catch, and Pesquera Centinela was required to pay a fine.11 On June 12, 2020, the ship was recorded illegally fishing in the Paracas Marine Protected Area and for going too slowly inside a restricted area, a leading indicator of illegal fishing. The final resolution by the Ministry of Production sanctioned the company with a fine.12
The Mi Melchorita: On December 1, 2021, inspection at Pesquera Centinela’s fishmeal and oil plant revealed that the Mi Melchorita fishing vessel, owned by Percy Antonio Sotero Chang and Ruth Evelyn Campos Neyra, had unloaded 38.095 tons of anchovy, exceeding the authorized storage capacity by 0.08 percent, about 60 pounds. As a result, the excess catch was confiscated, and the company paid the commercial value of the seized fish. The vessel owners requested a fine reduction by paying a discounted fine, but they failed to pay the remaining balance after the initial payment. Consequently, the authorities issued charges against Percy Sotero for exceeding the catch limit, and Ruth Campos for operating without proper permits.13
The Santa Adela II: Between January 2020 and March 2025, this ship spent five or more hours fishing in Peru in a marine protected area, according to satellite data analyzed by OceanMind and ProtectedSeas. Such incursions happened at least 12 times. The areas targeted included Punta Atico.
Planta Gran Trapecio:
(Calle 3, N° 264, Zona Industrial - Gran Trapecio)
In April 2023, dozens of workers from Pesquera Centinela participated in protests and sit-ins to demand better wages. The general secretary of the Fishermen’s Union of the Port of Chimbote explained that they presented their salary increase proposal to the company in their 2021-2022 list of demands, but the fishing company responded with another proposal that was well below what was proposed.14
Pesquera Centinela did not respond to a request for comment.15