IFOP Expert Presents on 2026 El Niño Impacts on Fisheries at 4th GRASP Workshop

On November 4, 2026, Dr. Jaime Letelier Pino, Director of the Oceanography and Environment Department at Chile's Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP), represented Chile at the 4th GRASP Workshop and delivered a presentation in the morning session titled "Impacts of the 2026 El Niño on Chilean Fishing Activities: Challenges and Opportunities."

The workshop was held online and organized by the South Pacific Permanent Commission (CPPS) within the framework of its 75th anniversary. GRASP is the Southeast Pacific Regional Alliance of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), a regional network within the GOOS system operating under CPPS oversight.

The workshop centered on the theme "Mesoscale Dynamics in the Southeast Pacific and Its Interaction with ENSO: Oceanographic and Ecological Implications," bringing together experts to analyze recent climate anomalies and their impacts on marine ecosystems. In his presentation, Letelier Pino detailed the effects of this climate phenomenon on the spatial distribution of biomass, as well as the operational strategies the Chilean fisheries sector needs to adopt in response to environmental variability.

In addition to Chile, researchers from Japan, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru also presented at the workshop. The event was hosted by the Committee of the Southeast Pacific Regional Alliance of the Global Ocean Observing System. IFOP stated that the inclusion of its research in this workshop reflects Chile's role in climate anomaly monitoring, regional oceanographic data interoperability, and biophysical modeling applied to sustainable fisheries decision-making.