Hundreds of traditional fisherman living just outside the Peruvian capital fear their livelihoods are ruined following an oil spill caused by a volcanic eruption thousands of miles away.
Authorities called the spill, caused by an eruption on the other side of the Pacific near Tonga, the worst ecological disaster in Lima in recent times.
Traditional fisherman in Ventanilla, a district to the north of Lima’s port in Callao, on Wednesday protested outside the gates of the Pampilla Refinery owned by Spanish energy giant Repsol, demanding compensation for the spill that occurred as freak waves hit a tanker during offloading on Saturday.
The Ventanilla spill sent 6,000 barrels of oil into the sea. The environment ministry said 174 hectares – equivalent to 270 football fields – of sea, beaches and natural reserves were affected. The attorney general’s office said the spill had “put at risk flora and fauna in two protected areas.”
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https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3164827/traditional-fishermen-despair-over-peru-oil-spill-caused