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 (Jan 19) 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.
“How will we live now? That’s our worry,” Miguel Angell Nunez, who led the protest, told AFP.
“We’ve lost our source of work and we don’t know when this will end.
“We want them to recognize the damage. The spill was caused by (Repsol’s) negligence.”
It is an area teeming with sole, lorna drum and Peruvian grunt, commonly used in the local delicacy ceviche, a marinated raw fish dish that Peru is famous for.
Read more:
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sustainability/peru-traditional-fishermen-oil-spill-livelihood-tonga-volcano-eruption-2449796