In just five days, the oil spill in the Ventanilla Sea has already destroyed more than a million square meters along the entire Peruvian coast; In that same period, hundreds of artisanal fishermen from Chalacos and Anconeros have stopped their work due to the poor conditions that prevent them from extracting the resource with which they live day by day.
The anconero martyrdom
At 5:00 am, Jorge Rodríguez, an espinelero (deep sea fisherman) begins unloading the bonito and parakeets that he has extracted in the early hours of yesterday. In dialogue with La República, the entrepreneur admits that the contamination did not affect the fishing of his boat, but it has generated an extra cost of almost S / 40,000 for the purchase of three freshwater tanks that he will have to mix with salt to wash the 20 tons of fish hunted because the sea water is dirty.
One hour and fifteen minutes later, the rederos (men of the sea who use the net as their main tool) make their appearance. At the edge of the pier, Pablo Victorio (65 years old), with 52 years as a fisherman, waits for the chalonero (person who uses a rowing boat) to transfer him to his boat, where he will arrange the nets. Three minutes later we have reached the boat. Tawa, as he prefers to be called, says that until a week ago he filled a maximum of two crates with up to 8 bunches (8 dozen) of lorna and lisa, which generated income between S/ 50 and S/ 80 a day, since each bundle was sold for S/ 5.00. This scene is repeated with Edgar Oscanóa, a shellfish fisherman, and his 63 other colleagues from the association of artisanal shellfish fishermen, whose daily losses reach S/150.
“We need real support from the state or from the company,” he said.
According to Gregorio Pacheco Campos, president of the Association of Artisanal Fishermen of Ancón (Apesca), a union that houses more than 800 members, daily losses are around S / 60,000. “Right now we are being affected hundreds of colleagues who work on the coast,” he said.
Likewise, he realized that Apesca has also lost income of up to S / 5,000 per day, because they cannot rent the salt water suction pumps.
“We sucked up the water and charged the wholesaler to generate income for the association. We are losing approximately more than S/ 5,000 from the large vessels,” the leader said.
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To the west, in the Pachacútec Sea, in Ventanilla, Anthony Chumpitaz, a net fisherman, points out that his daily income reached S/ 300 for a total of 8 to 12 crates with fish such as corvina, sole, cheetah, pintadilla, tramboyo, among others with white meat. After what happened, the money does not enter the coffers.
“We are ready to agree, what we want is for us to be given a subsidy to cover the basic family basket until this misfortune that La Pampilla has generated ends, because if I charge what I am losing, it will not be cover,” exhorted the worker.
José Llacuachaqui, leader of the Association of Founding Fishermen, Artisanal Stevedores of Playa Bahía Blanca (Aspefaea), said that the 200 members are losing between S/ 80 and S/ 200, which would amount to S/ 16,000 or S/ 40,000 in losses. money each day.
The Ministry of Production (Produce) told this newspaper that they have opened a list for artisanal fishermen to register and —based on it— form support alternatives. However, they stressed that they are subject to the measures of the Ministry of the Environment and the municipalities of Ventanilla and affected areas.
Meanwhile, yesterday the president of the Council of Ministers, Mirtha Vásquez, affirmed that Repsol has committed to carry out some actions in the face of the economic and social impacts of the disaster.
“Repsol promised to hire some affected sectors, such as artisanal fishermen, to work on the cleaning tasks. This work will be supervised by the State because it has to be done with safety, training conditions (…) The company is going to deliver these days baskets of basic products for the families of the affected areas”, said the prime minister and emphasized that these measures are independent of the compensation or reparation that the company must provide.
Lethal effect on tourism and fishing
The Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roberto Sánchez, pointed out that there is a lethal economic impact for those who live directly and indirectly from tourism and fishing in that area of the country.
“The bathers allowed businesses related to tourism and recreation to generate economic income, which has now been lost,” he said.
Sánchez mentioned that Repsol must take responsibility and compensate the Peruvian State, the affected families, the artisanal fishermen and the local governments. He added that the suspension of the license of the Spanish company should be evaluated.
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Pablo Victorio, fisherman from Ancón
“We sell our products to the public, but they are not coming. Of our daily profit, we have to invest half for our fuel. This disaster is not going to go away in 15 days, it is going to take a long time. That worries”.
Anthony Chumpitaz, fisherman from Ventanilla
“We also dedicate ourselves to tourism, swimming lessons, restaurant chains, but now all the investment made has been lost. I invested S/ 2,500 for this season, which has already gone into the water”.
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Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
