Summary
The authors interviewed 779 fishers to assess the bycatch of Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) in small-scale surface and bottom gillnet and purse-seine fisheries in Peru and Chile. Results estimated 4,067 penguins were caught as bycatch in 2023 alone, with the highest rates associated with the following: gillnets, location of larger penguin colonies, larger mesh sizes, and certain target species (i.e. corvina drum (Seriolella violacea) and Peruvian grunt (Anisotremus scapularis)). Bycatch was reported in both gear types, but fisher responses as to the state and fate of caught penguins was scant and variable.