Artisanal fishermen in Peru struggle to maintain their livelihoods following the catastrophic Repsol oil spill that has put their traditional industry in jeopardy.
Fisherman Kiefer Taboada shows a handful of mollusks coated with oil waste at Culebras Beach in the Ventanilla district of Callao, Peru, Feb. 24, 2022.
Small-scale fishermen are among the most economically vulnerable in Peru, harvesting small amounts of fish very close to the coast, sometimes from small boats and sometimes from the shore, said Juan Carlos Sueiro, an expert on the economics of fishing with the international conservation group Oceana.
Fisherman Kiefer Taboada shows a handful of mollusks coated with oil waste from an oil spill caused by the waves from an eruption of an undersea volcano in the South Pacific nation of Tonga, at Culebras Beach in the Ventanilla district of Callao, Peru, Feb. 24, 2022.
A report by United Nations experts estimates the Jan. 15 Repsol oil spill involved about 2,100 tons of crude, well above the 700 tons the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited considers the threshold for a large spill.
Fisherman Walter de la Cruz prepares his fishing hooks before casting a line into the waters of La Lluvia Beach in the Ventanilla district of Callao, Peru, Feb. 28, 2022.
Fisherman Walter de la Cruz casts his fishing line from the shore of La Lluvia Beach in the Ventanilla district of Callao, Peru, Feb. 28, 2022, weeks following the Repsol oil spill caused by a tsunami from the eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga.
De la Cruz said he knew immediately that the oil spreading over the waters off Peru's coast would halt for the first time the activity carried out for centuries. "I saw the fruits of my livelihood destroyed," he said. "It's like if you have a store and someone comes and sets it on fire."
Fisherman Walter de la Cruz walks away empty-handed, while workers continue in an oil clean-up campaign on Lluvia Beach in the Ventanilla district of Callao, Peru, Feb. 28, 2022, following the Repsol oil spill caused by a tsunami from the eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga.
De la Cruz cast a hook into the waters off Peru’s coast several times, with no luck. One attempt yielded a piece of plastic stained with oil.
Peru has characterized the Jan. 15 spill as its "worst ecological disaster."
Workers remove oil waste from Cavero Beach in the Ventanilla district of Callao, Peru, Jan. 21, 2022, following the Repsol oil spill caused by a tsunami from the eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga.
Peru does not have exact data on the number of fishermen affected by the Jan. 15 oil spill, or of the people on the docks and ports who depend on the fishing industry, including restaurants, food vendors, and those who rent sun umbrellas or boats.
Fishermen eat lunch from a common pot, next to a statue of their patron Saint Peter, in the Ventanilla district of Callao, Peru, Feb. 28, 2022, weeks following the Repsol oil spill caused by a tsunami from the eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga.
