THE BLACK LAKE

(Ongoing)

The state-owned company PDVSA's facilities deteriorated significantly due to disinvestment and neglect, leading to continuous breakdowns. This led to daily oil spills ranging from 300 to 2000 barrels, causing a catastrophic ecological disaster, affecting the fishing communities and endangering the biodiversity of the lake.

Fishermen struggle to carry out their work, frequently having to travel longer distances and put their lives at risk to locate areas less impacted, as fish move away from oil-contaminated waters. The continuous oil spills have resulted in an 80% reduction in fishing activity. Previously able to process 1000 kilos daily, fishermen now struggle to handle less than 10 kilos, often finding their catch covered in oil.

Done during assignments for BLOOMBERG