The fishing port of Zazárida, in Buchivacoa Municipality in Falcón State, is the third most important fishing port in Venezuela, importance gained by the large catch of fish of some 2,500 artisan workers and that is distributed to many states such as Lara and as far away as the Capital District.
By Correspondent lapatilla.com
Despite the importance of this economic activity that supports hundreds of families, the port suffers neglect and abandonment, although the local rulers know the problems inside out and have come to offer solutions that never come.
Calamities abound
To get to the port of Zazárida, one must take the Falcón-Zulia national highway and when you reach the exit to the town, you must travel for at least 20 more minutes on a road full of potholes and without any signage. On the sides of the road you can see melon and onion crops, as well as the streams from which the community gets its water supply. At the end of the road, on the left is the fishing port, and on the right the community of Zazárida.
The entrance to the port is a true reflection of the calamitous reality: the electrical wiring barely hangs about, only the main road is paved and lined by a number of refrigeration cellars in the direction of the docks that mark the way. Along the road, you can see street vendors selling all kinds of items and services: food, beachwear, and even outdoor barbershops.
At the end of the road, there is a fuel dispenser that is guarded by members of the National Guard. There the fishermen of the different boats get their fuel rationed quota, with prior authorization from “Insopesca” obtained through the fishermen’s councils.
Jetties are falling apart
This important port, which brings together some 2,500 fishermen and 210 boats, is crushed under misery and neglect. Of the three docks, only two are working, one of which has been repaired by laying about five meters of sticks and tree branches to walk on, since this section fell over three years ago and they are still waiting for answers.
One pier was left abandoned to anchor the boats that are damaged, while in the other two the fishermen must queue to unload the catch, and since the area is silted up and there is no way for everyone to do it simultaneously.
Ernesto Guanipa, a fisherman with 40 years of experience, said that the boats arrive at the pier before dawn to get in line and unload the products of the sea. “We go fishing when at night fall and return before the tide goes out, because the sediment prevents us from reaching the dock. Here we stand in line and they leave one by one, there is no other way to do it,” he said.
10 years ago the regional government of Falcón State carried out a dredging in the area and, apparently, they did not do it properly, which caused more sedimentation in the area. That is why the fishermen had to adapt to these conditions, which forces them to arrive at the pier before the low tide and they must wait for the high tide to go out again. Otherwise, the boats would get stuck.
Guanipa said that the Chavista governor of Falcón, Víctor Clark, has gone several times and knows very well the situation of one of the most important fishing ports in the country, but they have not received the response they expected.
Proof of this is that part of pier two fell and the same fishermen had to build a makeshift wooden bridge with pieces to continue using this pier. “We don’t have mourners, here we have to make do to continue working,” he said.
Self-management is not enough
Leobaldo Calleja, a councilor for the Zazárida Parish, explained that the plans are to develop an ordinance for the use of port with the purpose that whatever is collected also helps to solve its problems.
“There are proposals to make a “commercial city” where the same fishermen form their teams, have a bank, develop projects and investment so that everything runs better,” he explained.
Yesenia Gómez, spokesperson for the town’s fishermen’s council, explained that the fishermen are using self-management to repair what is damaged, and they have already thought of making a collection so that pier two can be recovered to operate normally.
She recalled that recently the supply of fuel to bongo or sun-tap type vessels has been increased, which are the ones that go out to sea for several days. However, the fishermen want that the fuel used for fishing be subsidized, and not need to use the liters they are given for their vehicles for the boats.
Empty nets
Regarding the pier, Gómez said that it was reported through the VenApp application, and although they (government) inspected the pier, they have not repaired it or carried out any other reconditioning to the fishing port.
“The governor is aware of this, we had a problem with a sewer that did not have a cover and among all the fishermen we collected the money and it was installed. However, the sedimentation is also due to the fact that the water from the streams goes directly into the cove, in addition to the garbage thrown by the same inhabitants of the community.”
She explained that currently the fishermen are not giving the daily contribution that corresponds to “Insopesca” for the allocation of fuel, because the fishing is not paying off. “Things have gotten rough. Six kilos of catch were requested for Insopesca and six more for the “communal days”, but in view of the situation they are only being asked to bring it to the institution that provides the fuel, and many do not provide them because they arrive with empty nets,” lamented the representative of the fishermen’s council.
However, the debt of the “arrime” (total catch fraction) has been increasing as the weeks go by. Until the first week of July, the amount owed reached 9,721 kilos, which are distributed to hospitals and state facilities.
The fishermen’s leaders are waiting for the situation to improve to ask for collaboration, in order to repair the dock and find a way to clean up the port, in order to improve the conditions of all those who work in the area.
In February 2020, Nicolás Maduro’s regime carried out work groups in that sector and agreed on actions to provide technical and security support to fishermen. They promised to provide permanent support to ensure the safety of sea workers, carry out rehabilitations in the houses, schools and clinics in the area in order to turn Zazárida into a powerful fishing port. Everything was just promises. It has already been three years since the collapse of pier two and 10 years since the last dredging of the cove, which every day gets more polluted with the community’s sewage.
No medical care
Despite the importance of this fishing port, they also do not have a health care center for sea workers. There is not even a first aid area for primary care in case of any emergency.
An example of this was the explosion of a boat that was registered in January of this year and left six Zulia State fishermen burned. Those who were at one of the docks in the port of Zazárida at the time of the accident say that it was an odyssey to get them off the boat. The victims had to be transferred from one boat to another until they reached the pier to then be transferred to a hospital, since the sedimentation of the area did not allow the boats to navigate.