Peru bans the active use of gillnets and curtain nets along the entire coastline

The Ministry of Production has prohibited the active use of gillnets (curtain) and trammel nets across the entire national coastline in three specific fishing modalities, whether with or without a vessel. The decision is detailed in Ministerial Resolution No. 00395-2026-PRODUCE, signed on November 5, 2026, by Minister Juan Carlos Requejo Aleman and published the following day in the Legal Norms section of the Official Gazette El Peruano, on page 16. Those who engage in these practices commit a punishable administrative offense, and the sector must migrate toward passive fishing gear.

The regulation is based on Decree Law No. 25977, the General Fishing Law, and its Regulations approved by Supreme Decree No. 012-2001-PE, which empower the sector to determine admissible fishing methods. The technical support comes from the Institute of the Sea of Peru (IMARPE), whose official letters and studies concluded that these modalities, originally conceived as passive, are now used actively by being hauled or displaced during capture, which alters their operational principle. The ministry’s General Office of Legal Counsel declared the issuance of the resolution legally viable through Report No. 00001480-2026-PRODUCE/OGAJ.

The three prohibited modalities

Article 2 of the resolution describes each method with technical precision to facilitate identification during inspection activities:

• Running gillnet: a bottom net arranged perpendicular to the coastline, carried seaward by a fisherman or diver and hauled from the beach forming a semicircle; it may comprise more than one panel.
• V-shaped gillnet with active ring: a V-shaped rope system, with bottom anchoring via a ring and two attachment points on the beach, cast or retrieved from the shore toward rocky areas and cliffs.
• Running gillnet with drum: a net attached to a floating drum and a vessel, set perpendicular or diagonal to the coast and displaced before the wave break.

Article 3 specifies that these modalities constitute unauthorized fishing methods, as they actively alter the principle of passive operation that characterizes gillnets and trammel nets when they are set vertically in a curtain shape in the water column.

Ecological risk and regulatory background

IMARPE, in the study on the characterization of fishing gear in the province of Cañete (2024-2025), documented that the entanglement of these nets in reef formations and cliffs causes severe mechanical damage to the substrate. It further warned that lost or abandoned nets continue to capture fauna indefinitely—the so-called ghost fishing effect—and act as a persistent source of plastic pollution, in addition to increasing the bycatch of juveniles, turtles, mammals, and seabirds.

The report also alerted to a risk for the fishermen themselves: the “red corrida con bidón” (drift net with buoy) modality operates in the surf zone and has been associated with accidents resulting in loss of human life, as well as the frequent loss of fishing gear. The organization recommended migrating toward high-selectivity passive gear, such as lines and hooks.

The prohibition adds to previous regulations: Ministerial Resolution No. 304-2022-PRODUCE, which bans gillnets activated by divers, and Ministerial Resolution No. 112-2009-PRODUCE, which prohibits beach seines. According to the file, these practices persisted informally despite the current restrictions.

Sanctions and those responsible for compliance

Article 4 refers infractions to the general regime: Decree Law No. 25977, its Regulations, and the Regulations for the Inspection and Sanction of Fishing and Aquaculture Activities, approved by Supreme Decree No. 017-2017-PRODUCE. Paragraph 14 of Article 134 of the Regulations of the General Fisheries Law classifies carrying on board or using unauthorized fishing gear, or altering its active or passive use, as an infraction.

Dissemination and surveillance tasks are the responsibility of:

• The General Directorate of Policies and Regulatory Analysis in Fisheries and Aquaculture.
• The General Directorate of Supervision, Inspection, and Sanction.
• The General Directorate of Artisanal Fisheries.
• The fisheries-competent departments of the Regional Governments.
• The General Directorate of Captaincies and Coast Guards of the Peruvian Navy, of the Ministry of Defense.

Article 6 provides for the publication of the resolution on the ministry’s digital site (www.gob.pe/produce) on the same day as its appearance in the official gazette.

The scope of the measure is significant for artisanal fishing coves across the country: it forces the reorganization of operations in surf zones, rocky areas, and cliffs, where these nets concentrated catches of rock species and those with high commercial demand. The regulation also assigns an active surveillance role to regional governments and the Navy along an extensive coastline, which will define in practice the degree of compliance with the prohibition.

Source: Official Gazette El Peruano, edition of Friday, November 6, 2026, Legal Norms, p. 16 (official reference: R.M. N° 00395-2026-PRODUCE).