This is where he fished for over three decades. He tried several times to cast a hook in the waters off Peru’s coast, but with no luck. One attempt produced a piece stained with oil.
De la Cruz (60 years old) is one of over 2,500 fishermen whose livelihoods were threatened by the large crude-oil leak at Repsol’s Spanish oil refinery, Jan. 15.
He said, “We are desperate”, and he counted on his fingers all the debts that piled up, including a bank loan, bills to pay water, electricity, and gas, as well as school supplies for his grandchildren.
Peru described the 11,900 barrels of oil that leaked in front of Repsol’s refinery as the “worst environmental disaster”. A United Nations report estimates that it was about 2,100 tonnes of crude. This is well over the 700 tons International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited considered the threshold for large spillages. It also represents an unprecedented amount of crude that leaked. Buzios is the largest deep-water oil field in the world and one of the most productive in Brazil.
The Mare Doricum was an Italian-flagged oil tanker that was loading oil at La Pampilla, a refinery just north of Peru’s capital. According to the captain of the ship, oil sank into the ocean at least eight minutes after it was unloaded.
Peru, which has a large informal economy, does not have any data about the exact number of affected fishermen or the number of people living at the ports and docks who depend on the fishing sector, such as food vendors and renters of sun umbrellas or boats.
One thing is certain: The most economically vulnerable artisanal fishermen in Peru are those who harvest small quantities of fish close to the coast. Sometimes they do so from small boats, other times from the shore. Juan Carlos Sueiro, an expert in the economics and fishing of the international conservation group Oceana, stated that this is a certainty.
They are below the poverty line. He said that their income fluctuates from day to day.
De la Cruz stated that he was aware immediately that oil spread over more than 106 km (41 miles) would stop the activity for centuries along Peru’s Pacific coast.
He said, “I saw my livelihood destroyed.” It’s almost like when someone sets fire to your store.
The government declared that it was considering financial assistance for those who were affected shortly after the spillage. It took authorities three weeks to compile a list with 2,500 fishermen they would assist. The government announced that Repsol would pay $799 to each of 5,600 affected people to make up for lost income. This was two weeks after the initial announcement. The Associated Press asked the Presidency of The Council of Ministers if the aid promise was still valid.
Many of the fishermen in this area don’t have any papers or certificates to prove their livelihood. De la Cruz doesn’t. He knows that De la Cruz has been coming to this place with a bag to fill his back for over 30 years. He usually trades fish with local restaurant owners or homemakers and then takes some home to his wife to make dishes that can be shared with neighbors.
De la Cruz stated that he felt “broken” when his work area was surrounded by journalists covering the oil spillage. De la Cruz wanted to share his feelings with them and the authorities so he used a blue marker to write on a piece cardboard: “Fishermen, we need help please.”
The Peruvian President Pedro Castillo visited De la Cruz and promised to help. He looked at the oil puddles and said, “This cannot be.”
Castillo, who had stumbled upon oil-soaked sand on another beach, acknowledged the damage caused by the accident. Castillo said, “What’s the point of giving nets if there is no place to fish?”
But the presidential words that ignited De la Cruz’s hopes have not been realized. State aid has not been established more than a month since that visit.
He said, “The days go by and we don’t get anything.”
Although fishermen protested with empty nets and blocked roads in front of Repsol’s refinery, they have not been able to answer key questions like: Who caused the oil leak? How long will it take before they can go back to fishing?
Repsol, a Spanish firm, claims that massive waves caused by a volcanic eruption in Tonga caused this spillage and that Mare Doricum is responsible. Repsol, a Spanish company that owns the tanker, has requested that Repsol refrain from disseminating “incorrect” or misleading information while the investigation continues.
Edward Malaga, a microbiologist from the centerist Morado party, visited the polluted region and spoke with Repsol officials. He said that political instability was causing paralysis in Castillo’s government, and that Repsol is not able to respond.
Three Cabinet shuffles have taken place since mid-January’s ecological catastrophe. There have also been three different environment ministers. One of them was a schoolteacher from the ruling party, who barely survived a week.
Malaga stated that “you talk to an official, and the next week there is another who starts everything from scratch.” Malaga stated that the four ministries involved and more than 30 of their associated bodies do not work together in a coordinated way.
He said that there is no website where you can see how each sector works day-to-day, how many animals are rescued, reported dead, and how much has been cleaned.
Repsol has so far given out either one or two cards, each worth $135, to the affected people to be exchanged for food at a supermarket. The fishermen organized community lunches using food donated by Catholic Churches and other organizations. The recurring theme of these meetings is the lack in financial aid.
Ady Chinchay is a lawyer and environmental researcher. However, there are challenges.
Chinchay stated that the judge would award compensation based upon the evidence presented by fishermen about their income. This will be nearly impossible for many affected by the spillage because they don’t issue receipts when selling their seafood.
De la Cruz has never published a bill for sale in the past 30 years.
He said, “Imagine the despair in my home.” To pay off her debts, his wife sold empanadas. However, she stopped buying anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis.
He said, “Yesterday we were barely able to afford natural gas.”