translated from Spanish: High diesel costs cause uncertainty

Mazatlan, Sinaloa.-There are three months before the fishing ban is lifted and the boats return to their offshore activities. Time is running out and what worries your community the most is the high costs of marine diesel, as they remain in a situation of uncertainty. Ignacio Alfaro, maintainer of the Gulf of California ship, observes and promptly indicates to 6 of his companions who are above a colossus of wood and steel that for three decades has been kept afloat. The boat has been moored since December, and since then has been the only one of the company they work for which has been given maintenance. ” There is no money ”
“They just bought us oxygen so we could make the cuts. And that’s after a month of being asking. Now it’s very hard to do the boat work. ” The high cost of diesel kept very limited earnings last season. To what his bosses say, in the approaches that have been with the federal government only tell them that the situation is going to be fixed, but do not give specific dates not even an estimate. If prices remain stagnant, Ignacio believes that this season only the third part of boats could leave the docks and the rest would be anchored. Currently the fleet of boats that are moored in Bonfil Park is around 500. If the calculation is correct, more than 350 vessels, and their crew, would be left without an economic income to take home.

For the moment, Ignacio and his subordinates continue to repair the winery under the scorching sun, the diesel tank, the maneuver and the thousands of joints of the Colossus, not knowing whether or not this will come out of the water this season.



Original source in Spanish