* The plant uses renewable energy and will be operated and managed by the “Punchi Warmi”, a group of 21 women from the Puinahua district.

Lima, August 15, 2022. As a result of the coordination and articulation between public and private institutions with the Social Organization of Fishermen and Artisanal Processors (OSPPA) of Brittany, in the district of Puinahua (Requena, Loreto), the first flake ice plant was inaugurated on August 13, which will ensure the cold chain for paiche fishing in the Pacaya Samiria.

The flake ice plant, located in Bretaña, capital of Puinahua, is one of the pillars of the Fishing Innovation Project promoted by PetroTal - a company led and operated by Peruvians - to generate added value to the paiche that OSPPA Bretaña sustainably extracts in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve.

Luis Pantoja, PetroTal's general manager, pointed out that the idea of building and implementing an ice plant arose from the entrepreneurship of the fishermen of Brittany and the support provided by allied institutions, which has resulted in a development model that can be replicated in other localities of the district.

As a result of the dialogue and the support of the specialists," he explained, "it was decided that the plant would produce flake ice, as this is the best option to preserve the cold chain of the paiche on its way to the jungle markets.

The plant has the capacity to produce about 2 tons of flake ice per day, which will be used to meet the demand of the more than 80 members of OSPPA Brittany and other artisanal fishermen in the district. It is estimated that more than 350 families will benefit from the plant's operation.  

The energy supply for ice production comes from five photovoltaic panel modules, making it the only plant of its kind in the jungle that uses renewable energy. The factory will be operated and managed by 21 women from Puinahua who have been trained for this work. They are called “Punchi Warmi”, which means “women's strength”.

More than two years ago, OSPPA Brittany began working in coordination with the Asociación Civil Despensa Amazónica, the Instituto Tecnológico de la Producción (ITP) of the CITE Productivo Maynas, attached to the Ministry of Production, and the Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado (SERNANP) to make its activities more efficient and sustainable.

PetroTal, operator of Lot 95, joined this confluence to facilitate and finance the execution of innovative fishing projects such as the ice plant and the steel platform installed for scaling, cleaning and cutting the paiche. The next step will be to consolidate the production of final products -such as sausages and nuggets- with the white meat of the giant freshwater fish.

The implementation of the ice plant was also supported by the non-governmental organization Energy, Environment and Sustainability, which contributed its experience with the use of photovoltaic panels, and the District Municipality of Puinahua, which provided the land for the project.