- Park rangers who patrol Illescas National Reserve often confront fishers who use chinchorros, a type of fishing net that is banned in Peru.
- The reserve is designated solely as a terrestrial protected area, which often limits the park rangers’ ability to act, as the marine area is outside their jurisdiction.
- Conservationists warn of the urgent need to safeguard this important marine area and its rich biodiversity.
“Your waters start here and go to over there!” a man says in an aggressive tone, his face hidden behind a black balaclava, standing at the water’s edge near a guard post of Illescas National Reserve, located in the department of Piura, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Lima.
Near the shore, there is a somewhat battered pickup truck and next to it, a small wooden boat known as a zapatito (little shoe), where there is also a net lying on the sand, in which a few flathead grey mullets (Mugil cephalus) are still flapping their fins.
The net is a chinchorro, which has been banned along the entire Peruvian coast since 2009 under a resolution from the Ministry of Production. Around 2 p.m., under a hesitant sun, the atmosphere grows increasingly tense as the fishers shout. One claims that “the beaches belong to God,” while another admits he knows this type of fishing “is prohibited” but says he has a family to feed. Staff from the National Service of Protected Natural Areas of Peru (SERNANP) approach to persuade them, warning that they are breaking the law and must haul in their fishing gear and leave.
A truck accompanying the fishers, carrying several other people, has just fled the scene. Those still pulling in the nets eventually climb into the pickup truck towing the zapatito and leave the beach as well. On the shore, they toss several small fish they considered worthless, which the sun quickly scorches.
“This is nothing,” says one of the park rangers, who, as part of his job, has had several confrontations with such fishers. On one occasion, he recalls there being scuffles and the confrontation almost resulting in violence. On another occasion, despite furious protests, police cut fishers’ nets during a surprise raid.
This time, however, such an intervention is not possible. The fishers, aware that they are monitored within the protected area, provocatively settle right at the reserve’s boundary, hence the statement, “your beach only comes this far.”
Fighting against the tide
Illescas National Reserve covers just over 36,550 hectares (90,317 acres) and is home to beautiful beaches located in areas known as Reventazón, Punta El Faro, La Garita and Nunura. In Nunura, there is a cliff with numerous basking South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens), a species categorized as vulnerable in Peru, although the IUCN categorizes it globally as least concern. In El Faro, on the colorful rocks near the shore, various bird species can be seen, including the migratory Franklin’s gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan).
However, there is a problem affecting Illescas: It is exclusively terrestrial. Its projections do not extend into the sea, unlike Paracas National Reserve, located 260 kilometers (162 miles) from Lima, which protects both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. As a result, the ability of Illescas National Reserve staff to intervene in fishing activities is limited. Since illegal chinchorro fishing takes place in the sea, outside the territory where these officials have jurisdiction, carrying out more effective monitoring operations, rather than merely warning illegal fishers to leave, requires coordinated action with other entities, such as the police.
Such action is undertaken periodically to protect the area. Between Sep. 29, 2022, and Sep. 11, 2024, eight joint patrols were carried out with environmental police, the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, the Regional Directorate of Production of Piura, the Ministry of Production and staff from Illescas National Reserve. Although these surprise patrols have succeeded in reducing the incidence of chinchorro fishing that affects the waters bordering the reserve, conservationists say it is not enough.
Fishing trawlers also venture into this stretch of the sea, coming just a few meters from the shore, including one vessel spotted by Mongabay Latam near Punta El Faro as it was casting its nets. In Peru, trawl nets are banned within the first five nautical miles, so incidents such as these can be handled by the Ministry of Production or by DICAPI, the authority responsible for protecting the environment and tackling illegal activity in the country’s maritime, river and lake areas. The Illescas park rangers, however, cannot intervene, as the boats are outside their jurisdiction.
Transition zone
Silvana Baldovino, director of biodiversity and Indigenous peoples at the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA), says that, from the start, “Illescas should have been designated a marine–coastal protected area, like Paracas.”
Yuri Hooke, a marine scientist with Cayetano Heredia University, says the area holds “exceptional importance in the biogeography and distribution of species in the South Pacific.” Here, cold waters and warm waters combine as oceanic currents meet. For this reason, Hooke explains, it is known as the “Temperate-Tropical Transition Area.”
These waters are home to species such as the mangrove grouper (Mycteroperca xenarcha), typical of tropical marine ecosystems, and the Peruvian morwong (Cheilodactylus variegatus), which prefers colder waters. Hooker notes that this meeting of currents fosters an underwater diversity that “should be studied and protected.”
According to Matías Caillaux, a fisheries engineer at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Illescas is the northernmost place in Peru where large groups of Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) are found, a species categorized as vulnerable by the IUCN and as endangered under Peruvian law.
The Temperate-Tropical Transition Area, Hooker explains, begins in the waters off Illescas and extends north to the El Ñuro sector, within the recently created Mar Tropical de Grau National Reserve. Given the high productivity of this sea, enriched by waters of different temperatures, Hooker says the southern boundary at Illescas should also be protected.
Aldo Aguirre, head of Illescas National Reserve and an official with SERNANP, says when researchers first started studying the in the 1970s, “no one was talking about penguins or marine species.” The focus then was on the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus). Today, several condors still inhabit the massif, a rocky formation rising to 461 meters (1,513 feet) and accounting for 65.5% of the protected area, with the remainder lying in coastal zones. Illescas is the only place along the Peruvian coast where a condor nest has been found.
Caillaux is working through TNC and with SERNANP to strengthen Illescas’ management and expand knowledge of its marine ecosystem and biodiversity. This, he says, could pave the way for conservation measures in the adjacent ecosystem, which continues to be affected by chinchorro fishing and other harmful fishing practices.
“Let’s understand what’s in the water,” Caillaux says.
Preserve, not plunder
Chinchorro nets are hauled in from the shore, either by hand or by motorized vehicles. According to the Ministry of Production resolution that bans their use, it is a “very low selectivity” fishing method, meaning it captures fish indiscriminately. As a result, many fish are discarded, either because they are too small or have no market value.
Discarding non-target fish, collectively called “bycatch,” is one of the major challenges to sustainable fishing worldwide. Chinchorros also act like trawl nets and can cause serious damage to the seabed.
Another illegal fishing method in these waters is boyador, which involves using a stick and part of a buoy to create vibrations that stun fish, making them easier to catch with nets. This method is also indiscriminate, affecting small fish, sea lions and birds, according to Illescas National Reserve rangers.
At the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Cali in 2024, SERNANP chief José Carlos Nieto presented a map highlighting 36 priority sites for the conservation of Peru’s marine environment. Among them was the area off the coast of Illescas National Reserve.
The Master Plan for Protected Natural Areas, presented in 2024 by SERNANP, identifies the waters off Illescas as a high-value conservation area where “the establishment of a conservation method should be prioritized.”
Under Peruvian law, once a protected area is created, it cannot be expanded. In this case, the only option would be to establish a separate marine protected area adjacent to Illescas.
Aguirre says reserve staff are promoting responsible practices among fishers, such as avoiding the use of chinchorros or any nets that catch undersized fish, which could harm species’ reproduction. They are also asked to respect minimum hook-and-line sizes and to avoid leaving waste on the beach after working. He says fishers who abide by these guidelines have helped alert Illescas staff to the presence of fishers using illegal chinchorros within the reserve.
The joint effort between reserve staff and the local fishing community began in 2022 and currently involves nine groups of artisanal fishers. Two of these groups use handlines and come from the districts of La Unión (Piura) and Mórrope (Lambayeque), while the other seven use gillnets and hail from various districts in Lambayeque. All enter the coastal area of the reserve to fish and usually stay several days to ensure a substantial catch.
However, fishers report that such catches are harder to come by these days, suggesting populations may be on the decline.
“Fishing used to be much easier,” says a handline fisher, who has been working for several days while showing the icebox holding his catch. Like most fishers operating in Illescas, they arrived in an aging four-wheel-drive truck and set up a rudimentary camp along the shore.
Nearby, under a large carob tree, Carlos Pastor and his companions are sport fishing. Their experience mirrors that of the artisanal fishers.
“We’ve been here a couple of days and have only caught a few flounders,” Pastor says with some frustration.
Banner image: After a chinchorro fishing haul, some fish considered worthless are left behind and end up rotting on the sand. Image by Sebastián Castañeda.
This article was first published in Spanish on March 24, 2025.
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