So far this year fishermen in the area have detected three active oil spills in the ‘Golfete de Coro’, Falcón State in north western Venezuela. These crude oil leaks come from the underwater pipelines that go from Zulia to Falcón State to supply the Paraguaná Refining Complex (CRP).
Irene Revilla / Correspondent lapatilla.com
In the last four years, fishermen have denounced oil and gas leaks that affect the biodiversity of these coasts with large mangrove areas visited by migratory birds from all over the continent.
Until the publication of this information, PDVSA had not started work to repair the pipelines in the sections where they are broken, although the fishermen have already reported the situation.
It is worth remembering that the second week of January, PDVSA held a meeting with the fishermen of the ‘Golfete de Coro’ to create a treatment and attention plan for the place. First, to carry out an environmental study jointly with the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (Ivic) and specialists in the area and then to carry out an environmental sanitation plan. Likewise, it was agreed to support fishermen who have lost their work and catch due to these spills. These works are expected to begin in the coming days.
For its part, the ‘Caribe Sur’ foundation asserted that although after a few days the oil stain is not visible on the surface, that does not mean that the oil spill disappeared, but rather that it mixed in the water column and is probably already covering the bottom of the sea. “Remember that many species on which we depend live on the seafloor.”
The fishermen recorded a video on January 18th, where they showed how the river of oil ran through the waters of the Paraguaná Peninsula near Tiguadare, and they also showed how the species they fished were contaminated.
Those affected are not only those in the Golfete de Coro, because the oil slick expanded for days. It also reached the limits with Zulia State, Villa Marina, and the town of Amuay on the Paraguaná Peninsula.
#24Ene siguen los derrames de petróleo en el oleoducto submarino de #PDVSA #RioSeco #Paraguaná Estos tres derrames están allí desde la semana pasada y no los han atendido. ¿Qué te parece, @MinecOficial? (aunque la verdad no se por qué los menciono si igual nunca le paran) pic.twitter.com/TpSyA6bofg
— diodon histrix (@diodon321) January 25, 2024
Fishermen, seafarers and service providers of these latter areas have joined the request for an environmental study and sanitation in order to ensure that fishing activity does not disappear, as well as to prevent tourism from being affected, which is the main support of these communities on the coast of the Los Taques Municipality.
The NGO ‘Clima 21’ mentioned in its report published in January on oil spills in Venezuela that throughout the second half of 2023, that crude oil spills in the country are not a question of numbers, but of omission by the State that avoids its environmental responsibility and the protection of human rights.
In that period 35 hydrocarbon spills were recorded, which added to the 44 cases counted in the previous semester. This results in a total of 79 events in 2023. A number very similar to the 81 documented in 2022.
‘Clima 21’ states that, as in the other periods, the state oil company (PDVSA) in none of the cases provided adequate and sufficient information about the causes, characteristics of the spilled hydrocarbon, consequences or any other relevant information about these events.
In contrast, the statements of some officials and the obstruction of journalistic work in the areas affected by the spills seem to indicate more as an attempt of coverup to create a narrative of normality than a true will for change.
“In conclusion, the Venezuelan Government continues to fail in its obligation to adopt appropriate measures to guarantee a continuous and sustained improvement in the enjoyment of environmental human rights of citizens in relation to the impact of oil spills that occur in the country,” states the report.