Abstract

Simple Summary: Well-informed consumers demand world markets increase production transparence and adhere to sustainable fish husbandry practices. The Peruvian grunt inhabiting the rocky shores of American Southern Pacific has a high commercial value but its wild population is being harvested unsustainably. The cultivation of this grunt could alleviate fishing pressure on its natural population. Therefore, a bioeconomic insight would allow researchers to gauge cultivation bottlenecks and optimize processes as well as assess the transfer viability to the private sector. This study analyzes the economic feasibility of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) in Peruvian grunt farming using field data from previous technological developments. The sensitivity analysis shows that the economic outcome of this grunt aquaculture using photovoltaic solar panels and a 15-month production cycle results in a profitable investment for a farm size of about 400 K/yr. Likewise, a similar profitable exploitation can be achieved by shortening the production cycle to 12 months. These achievements would enable the know-how transference to entrepreneurial initiatives in the semi-desert region of southern Peru and northern Chile. The Peruvian grunt Anisotremus scapularis is one of the most appreciated fish in Peruvian national markets. However, its reduced and irregular fishery is a paradigm of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) in the Peruvian-Chilean coastal region. An important technological advancement has been achieved in the last decade in capture, management, nutrition, and broodstock maintenance to boost pilot experiences on the aquaculture of this species. Therefore, it is pertinent to evaluate the economic viability of this candidate species to identify cultivation bottlenecks, optimize the process, and assess the transfer feasibility of the technical know-how to interest groups. In this study, we performed a sensitivity analysis to assess how market price and production size should make its commercialization profitable. We show that the use of photovoltaic solar panels and a raw production cycle of 15 months enables profitability at a similar to 400 k unit farm size at a commercial market price of 6.67 USD/kg, i.e., B/C = USD 1.14. Both, time to market and market price exerted the highest influence on the value of grunt farms; whereas, a reduction of the production cycle to 12 months by seed selection, optimized rearing conditions, and nutritional diets also provides a profitable investment, i.e., NPV = USD 287,054 with an IRR = 23.71% at a discount rate of 10% and B/C = USD 1.15. These scenarios pave the way for the transfer of technological know-how to entrepreneurial initiatives in the economically depressed coastal region of the Atacama Desert.