The Peruvian anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) is a species of fish of the anchovy family, Engraulidae, from the Southeast Pacific Ocean. It has yielded greater catches than any other single wild fish species in the world, with annual harvests varying between 3.14 and 8.32 million tonnes throughout the 2010s. Almost all of the production is used for the fishmeal industry. The Peruvian anchoveta may be the world's most abundant fish species. Description Anchoveta were previously thought to eat mostly phytoplankton, small zooplankton, and larvae. However, recent work has shown that anchoveta get most of their energy from larger zooplankton, including macrozooplankton. Krill and large copepods are the most important dietary components. Peruvian anchoveta live for up to 3 years, reaching . They first reproduce at about 1 year age and length, whereas they are harvested as early as 6 months of age and length. Distribution Peruvian anchoveta are found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean off Peru and Chile, and typically found in huge schools within of the coast. Fisheries The anchoveta has been characterised as "the most heavily exploited fish in world history". The top yield was 13.1 million tonnes in 1971, but has undergone great fluctuations over time. After a period of plenty in the late 1960s, the population was greatly reduced by overfishing and the 1972 El Niño event, when warm water drifted over the cold Humboldt Current and lowered the depth of the thermocline. Nutrient-rich waters then no longer upwelled, and phytoplankton production decreased, leaving the anchoveta with a depleted food source. A drastic reduction was also brought about by another strong El Niño in the early 1980s, but production was back up to 12.5 million tonnes in 1994. Along with the El Niño of 1982–1983, the 1997–1998 El Niño, the strongest on record, caused a loss in population of the anchoveta, negatively impacting fisheries, and therefore, the economy. The annual catches in the 2000s varied between 6.2 and 11.3 million tonnes, consistently more than for any other fish species harvested in the wild. However, declining catches throughout the 2010s diminished its lead over the Alaska pollock and skipjack tuna. In October 2015, an El Niño year, of 3.38 million metric tons of anchoveta surveyed by the Peruvian Marine Research Institute, only 2 million metric tons were of reproductive age; 5 million metric tons are needed to open fisheries. The fishing industry claimed populations were more around 6.8