By Marco Aquino
LIMA, July 22 (Reuters) – Hundreds of hungry pelicans are flocking to Peruvian ports and coastal markets in search of food, an increasingly visible sign of a strengthening El Niño weather pattern that is threatening key sectors of the country’s economy.
Scientists say warmer ocean temperatures linked to El Niño are disrupting marine ecosystems off Peru’s Pacific coast, reducing fish stocks and forcing pelicans toward urban areas. Some birds receive scraps from fishermen and traders, but others may not survive.
“That’s what happens: the birds leave their breeding grounds and die from lack of food,” marine biologist Carlos Zavalaga said.
Climate experts have warned of a strong or super-strong El Niño this year, raising risks of droughts, floods, and heatwaves.
Broader economic concerns are mounting. Peru’s fishing industry fears exports will fall short of a projected $5 billion this year, after sales reached $4.6 billion in 2025, according to Alfonso Miranda, former vice minister of fisheries and head of a committee for the sustainable management of giant squid in the South Pacific.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty about what might happen,” Miranda said.
Sea surface temperatures are running between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius above normal, according to the country’s El Niño monitoring agency ENFEN, prompting key commercial species to move into deeper waters. Industrial activity in the fishing sector fell 31% in the first five months of this year, while agriculture grew 0.4%, affected by higher temperatures.
Peru’s Congress approved a $2.8 billion budget increase on July 15 to fund infrastructure works and bolster preparations for heavy rains linked to adverse weather, which agro-export sectors say are inadequate.
Peru, the world’s third-largest copper producer, is also a major fishmeal producer and agricultural exporter, shipping produce such as blueberries. Agricultural exports reached a record $15.1 billion in 2025 but producers warn the outlook is deteriorating as the main growing season begins.
Gabriel Amaro, from the Peruvian agricultural producers’ association, AGAP, said El Niño is expected to cost the sector nearly $1 billion in extra export revenue that had been forecast for this year.
“We believe this El Niño could be the worst in 50 years,” he said.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Additional reporting by Anthony Marina; Writing by Lucinda Elliott; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
