For Peru, the Yeosu Expo will be a rare opportunity to showcase its agro-fishery and gastronomical delights.

“For us, this expo is important because we want to show our innovation, scientific investigations we are making toward the utilization of the sea, but also the preservation of the richness of the sea,” said Alberto Massa, Peru Commissioner General for Yeosu Expo.

Peru’s economy reflects its varied geography with its coastal waters providing excellent fishing grounds.

A couple of products they will showcase with the hope of entering into the Korean market are its “anchovies and giant squid,” he said.

The fishing industry in Peru is big business with an excess of $1 billion a year in exports, making the sector the second-biggest generator of foreign currency after mining.

It is also considered one of the largest fishing industries in the world, producing almost 10 percent of the world’s catch.

On the scientific front, the Peruvian pavilion will explain some of the science behind preventing the negative affects that El Nino has on its fishing industry.

Flowing every 7-14 years, the warm ocean current of El Nino leads to the destruction of feed for fish, having devastating effects on the food chain of the Peruvian fishing industry.

The technology behind monitoring these currents is shared with the United States, which monitors the changing of water temperatures through buoys planted across the Pacific Ocean.

The Peruvian government is also undertaking a major transformation of its water resources management focusing on irrigation development in the coastal area, he said.

Due to declining water supplies from fast-melting glaciers affected by climate change and the Andean Mountains that block the path of rain clouds from the Amazon to the dry coastal region of Peru, the Andean nation started using desalinated water from the Pacific Ocean for its people and agricultural industry.

Peruvian cuisine, almost unknown internationally until recently, is steadily conquering palates around the world and will make a presence at Yeosu also as one of their top chefs whips up some of the country’s favorite dishes that were also enjoyed at the Shanghai Expo.

By Yoav Cerralbo (yoav@heraldcorp.com)