Anchovies are a massive cash crop for Peru

The anchovy is king in Peru.

The Peru Upwelling System, hopefully not too much affected by this year's moderate El Nino, provides huge nutrient flow to create immense numbers of phytoplankton, feasted upon by the anchoveta. The amount of fish protein this fishery creates is immense. I somewhat wish, parochially, that some of this could be shipped to Omega Proteins in Virginia so they'd stop depleting the Chesapeake of menhaden.

"With some six to eight million tonnes fished each year, the Andean country and its 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) of coastland reap the lion's share of the tiny fish, ahead of Chile's one million tonnes annually."