Page 12 - AT
P. 12

A12   WORLD NEWS
                  Monday 28 october 2019




































            Brazil oil spill leaves local fishermen in the lurch




            By DIANE JEANTET                                                                                                    fishermen on just the north-
            DAVID BILLER                                                                                                        ern  third  of  Bahia's  coast,
            Associated Press                                                                                                    and  cited  lower  sales  due
            RIO  DE  JANEIRO  (AP)  —                                                                                           to wary consumers.
            Holding  his  breath  for  90                                                                                       Speaking  to  reporters  Fri-
            seconds,  Arivaldo  Sousa                                                                                           day  in  Pernambuco  state,
            dives  to  depths  of  up  to                                                                                       Brazil's tourism minister Mar-
            65 feet (20 meters) to haul                                                                                         celo  Alvaro  Antonio,  de-
            lobsters  from  the  seafloor                                                                                       clined to comment on the
            off Bahia state, one of tens                                                                                        potential health risks of eat-
            of  thousands  of  fishermen                                                                                        ing seafood, citing ongoing
            who make a living from the                                                                                          analyses  of  marine  fauna
            rich waters in one of Brazil's                                                                                      that  have  yet  to  be  con-
            top tourist destinations.                                                                                           cluded.
            Now  their  livelihood  is  dry-                                                                                    Business  at  Salvador's  fish
            ing  up.  Since  the  start  of                                                                                     market  has  dwindled,  ac-
            September,  a  mysterious                                                                                           cording  to  Leila  Carreiro
            oil  spill  has  sullied  almost                                                                                    who    makes    purchases
            250  beaches  on  Brazil's                                                                                          there  for  her  restaurant,
            northeastern  coast.  Globs                                                                                         Dona    Mariquita,   which
            of black crude have been                                                                                            specializes in traditional Ba-
            contaminating  the  coast-                                                                                          hian food. Her shellfish are
            line  in  nine  Brazilian  states,                                                                                  sourced from local provid-
            most    recently   slithering                                                                                       ers, including oysters from a
            southward to Bahia.          In this Oct. 23, 2019 photo, researchers from the Bahia Federal University collect material contami-  quilombo - a community of
            On the outskirts of Salvador,   nated by an oil spill in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil.                             descendants  of  escaped
            Bahia's  capital,  Sousa  nor-                                                                     Associated Press  slaves  -  that  struggled  to
            mally  harvests  175  pounds                                                                                        scrape  out  a  living  even
            (80  kilograms)  of  lobster  is  overseeing  an  investiga-  teers  have  rushed  to  the  the  specimens  last  week-  before the spill.
            per  month  but  has  fished  tion and has said its primary  picture-perfect   beaches  end and analyzed them in  "The  restaurant  is  empty
            a mere fraction of that re-  hypothesis  is  that  it  spilled  and  pulled  on  their  gloves  a laboratory.       and  it's  not  just  mine;  it's
            cently, with hotels and res-  from a boat navigating off  to  gather  sludge  from  the  'I had expected that, since  the majority of them," Car-
            taurants  no  longer  buying  Brazil's  shore.  Brazil's  state-  sand. The government, too,  the beach cleaning by the  reiro  said.  "Suppliers  are
            for  fear  of  contamination.  run  oil  company  deter-  deployed thousands of sol-   volunteers  was  rather  fast,  desperate,  calling  to  ask
            Luckily his wife is a teacher,  mined the oil originated in  diers to help environmental  the  degree  of  contamina-  if  we  don't  want  anything.
            but  still  they've  cut  all  ex-  Venezuelan fields; the Ven-  agents with the cleanup.  tion would be small," Fran-  It's  stopped.  Everything  is
            travagances.  Friends  are  ezuelan  government  has  But the work on the shores  cisco Kelmo, director of the  stopped. There's no move-
            worse off.                   denied  it  is  the  source  of  belies the impact beneath  university's  biology  institute  ment,  no  clients.  This  sea-
            "There  are  people  here  the spilled oil.               the  water's  surface,  which  that conducted the survey,  son,  a  few  years  ago,  the
            going  hungry  already,  be-  Salvador, where Sousa fish-  is  only  starting  to  be  re-  said  by  phone.  "This  shows  house would be full."
            cause  they  have  no  way  es, is Brazil's first capital and  vealed.                 us that these three beach-   It's impossible to tell at this
            to sell elsewhere, and they  considered  the  center  of  A survey of three coral reefs  es are under intense stress."  stage  whether  the  crude
            have no way to fish," Sousa  Afro-Brazilian culture. Some  by the Federal University of  Bahia Pesca, the state gov-  has   stopped   washing
            said by phone. "It's very sad,  of  its  colonial  buildings  Bahia found oil in the diges-  ernment's fishing promotion  ashore or will continue, ac-
            our situation is very critical."  were built using lime made  tive  or  respiratory  systems  agency, is nearing conclu-  cording  to  Lucas  Costa,
            Affected    beaches     are  from mounds of discarded  of  all  38  marine  animals  sion of a separate survey of  Bahia  state's  secretary  for
            scattered    across   1,400  seashells.  Since  crude  be-  collected,  including  fish,  almost  200  animals,  it  said  agriculture, livestock, irriga-
            miles (2,250 kilometers), ac-  gan  washing  up  in  Brazil's  crabs,  bivalves  and  octo-  in a statement. It estimates  tion,  fishing  and  aquacul-
            cording to the Navy, which  northeast  region,  volun-    pus. Researchers collected  the spill has affected 16,000  ture. q
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