The value chain module of the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) software system [8] as developed by Christensen et al. [9] served as the structuring element for the analysis. The value chain module was used to describe the flow of seafood products from fishing fleets through the various enterprises of the fisheries sector and on through to the ultimate consumer. Selleckchem ZVADFMK For each step this

involved an evaluation of the revenue, cost, employment, and salaries per unit weight of production, in order to obtain overall estimates for contribution of the entire fisheries sector to the economy of and employment in Peru. The study was based on information about the fisheries sector collected for 2009 or averaged over the period 2009–2012. Metric ton (t) of fish was used as the fundamental unit throughout the analysis. Employment was estimated based on the number of people employed per t processed per day, scaled to annual employment based on annual production figures. All revenue and cost figures were expressed

in US$. The first step of the value chain analysis was to define the various enterprises that form learn more part of the sector, (see Table 1 for an overview). For each enterprise, the revenue, cost of operation, and employment was then evaluated in considerable detail. A data file with the combined ecosystem model and value chain data is available on request from the corresponding author. All estimates for landings, processing (seafood input destined for reduction, curing,

freezing, and canning, as well as output), internal consumption (by type of product; e.g., cans of fish, fresh fish) and exports (by product) Tolmetin were obtained from the official statistics of the Peruvian Ministry of Production (PRODUCE). Landings per fishing gear/fleet were reconstructed from the official data of Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE) data for the artisanal fleets, and the official data from PRODUCE data for the industrial fleets. The number of fishers was estimated as the product of the number of vessels per fleet and the average crew size. The number of vessels was obtained from PRODUCE, IMARPE, and Estrella et al. [10]. The average crew size was estimated based on: (i) interviews with artisanal fishermen (n=60) and vessel owners (n=25) along the coast; (ii) direct observations; and (iii) literature including, Alfaro-Shigueto et al. [11] and Estrella et al. [10]. Gender ratios for all enterprises was based on direct observations. In order to estimate employment in fishmeal and fish oil processing plants, the number of factories that were operating in 2009 were divided in four groups based on processing capacity. The number of people employed in each group was estimated using information gathered in interviews with fishmeal entrepreneurs, fishmeal plant owners and workers, and other key informants.