A massive oil spillage in Peru, which the government described as an ecological catastrophe, has caused havoc on the livelihoods and lives of many fishermen who depend on the small amount of fish they catch close to the shore for their daily income.
Walter de la Cruz ran down a large sand-dune in fog to reach a rock overlooking Pacific Ocean. He has fished there for 30 years. He tried several times to cast a hook into waters off the coast of Peru, but with no luck. One attempt produced a piece stained with oil.
De la Cruz (60) is one of more then 2,500 fishermen whose livelihoods were affected by the large crude oil spillage at the Spanish-owned Repsol oil refining plant on January 15.
He said that we are in desperate times and counting on our fingers the debts which overwhelm us, including a loan from a bank, bills for water, electricity and gas, as well school supplies for his grandchildren.
The spillage has had devastating effects on Peru’s fishermen, who are the most economically vulnerable. Juan Carlos Sueiro, an expert in the economics and fishing of the international conservation group Oceana, stated that fishermen harvest small quantities of fish close to the coast. Sometimes, they use small boats, but sometimes they catch fish from the shore.
They live below the poverty line. He said that their income varies from one day to the next.
Peru has described the spillage of 11,900 barrels at the Repsol refinery as its most serious ecological disaster. The Mare Doricum, an Italian flagged tanker, was loading oil at the La Pampilla refinery just off Peru’s coast north. According to the South American country’s Congress, the oil escaped into the ocean for at most eight minutes by the ships captain.
The United Nations experts have reported that it involved around 2,100 tonnes crude oil. This is far more than the 700 tonnes International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited considers a threshold for large spillages and an unprecedented amount for the type crude that leaked. The oil was extracted from Buzios in Brazil, which is the largest deep-water oil field in the world and also the most productive.
Peru, which has a large informal economy, does not have precise data on the number or the numbers of fishermen who are affected.
De la Cruz stated that he knew right away that the oil would stop for the first time the activity for centuries along Peru’s Pacific coast.
He said, “I saw the fruits and livelihood of my livelihood destroyed.” It was like a store being set on fire by someone.
The government announced shortly after the spill that it was considering financial assistance for those who were affected. Three weeks were spent by authorities to create a list with 2,500 fishermen who they would assist. Two weeks later, Repsol was announced by the government that it would now pay $799 each to the 5,600 people who were affected by the spillage to compensate them.
Many fishermen in this area don’t have the papers or certificates to prove their livelihood. De la Cruz does not. He knows that he has been coming to this place for over 30 years with a full stomach. He usually sells or trades fish with local restaurant owners or homemakers. He then takes some home to his wife to make dishes that can be sold to neighbors.
The Peruvian President Pedro Castillo visited De la Cruz and promised to help. He looked at the oily puddles and shrugged his shoulders before stating: This cannot be.
Castillo discovered oil-soaked sand at another beach and apologized for the damage. What good is giving nets if there is no place for them to fish? He said.
However, the presidential words that ignited De la Cruz’s hopes are not being fulfilled. It has been more than a year since that visit that state aid was not available.
He said, “The days go by and we don’t receive anything.”
