From May 4 to 8, 2026, the international symposium on small pelagic fish, “Navigating Changes in Small Pelagic and Forage Fish Communities: Climate, Ecosystems and Sustainable Fisheries” (SPF-2026), was held in La Paz. This scientific meeting brought together specialists from various countries to address the effects of climate variability, ecosystem changes, and the challenges associated with the sustainable management of small pelagic fish.
Chile was represented by researchers from the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV), the University of Concepción (UDEC), the University of Santiago (USACH), the National Fisheries Institute (INPESCA), and the Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP), who presented scientific advances related to ecology, population dynamics, and fisheries management in the Humboldt Current System.
In this context, researcher Carola Hernández, from the Fisheries Development Institute, presented the exhibition entitled “Environmental Forcing and Phenological Shifts in the Spawning Dynamics of Anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) in Northern Chile”, where she addressed the recent changes in the reproductive phenology of the anchoveta of northern Chile and its relationship with environmental variability, highlighting the transition from a historical pattern of a single reproductive peak to a system with two main spawning periods.
