Oil, aquatic trash and toxic algae threaten life in Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo

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Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, once a vibrant heart of the country’s oil industry, has become an environmental nightmare, threatened by pollution from oil, waste, and toxic microalgae. The lake’s fishermen are experiencing a daily struggle as the pollution has led to a severe decline in fish stocks and has degraded the lake’s ecosystem. Lake Maracaibo is recognized as one of the oldest and largest freshwater lakes on the planet.

Once symbolic of Venezuela’s oil boom, the lake is now akin to a polluted wasteland, as described by environmental activists. Situated about 372 miles west of Caracas, Lake Maracaibo’s degradation is a result of prolonged excessive oil extraction, the neglect of aging infrastructure, and a dearth of waste treatment facilities. It’s an underwater web of obsolete pipes stretching tens of thousands of kilometers, frequently leaking crude oil due to persistent system failures.

Lake Maracaibo’s shores in the San Francisco municipality are littered with oil and trash. Evidence of the pollution is visible in the thick greenish substance that coats animals near the lake, and in the oil stains found on fishing nets and the water’s surface. A constant leakage of crude from deteriorating platforms and fractured pipelines is a major source of contamination.

The lake also serves as a catchment for over a hundred tributaries and has become a dumping ground for wastewater from nearby areas, housing 5.3 million people. This includes waste from neighboring Colombian territories. Harmful chemicals, sewage, and fertilizers dumped into the lake have caused elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, promoting the growth of toxic cyanobacteria like microcystin.

This particular bacteria, constituting 95% of the local greenish toxic microalgae called “verdin,” poses serious risks to aquatic life and humans due to the toxins it releases, as explained by Beltrán Briceño, a local university professor. This has caused widespread fish deaths and forced the remaining fish away from the shores.

The toxic environment of the lake has led to health issues among local fishermen, and has caused significant declines in catch, from 1,500 pounds of shrimp down to just 17 pounds. The pollution has also damaged fishing equipment, leading to smearing of boats and clogging of motors.

The environmental degradation of Lake Maracaibo isn’t a new phenomenon, but the consequences are now being felt more acutely. The onset of pollution dates back to the early 20th century and was aggravated in the 1930s with the excavation of a canal to enable oil tanker access, introducing seawater that destroyed native freshwater species.

According to Professor Briceño, there is no easy solution to the lake’s crisis, especially if it continues to be treated as a “septic tank.” With unprecedented levels of pollution, Lake Maracaibo is teetering on the brink of irreparable damage, and the surrounding communities are paying the price. The situation is a stark warning and a call to action for sustainable management of natural resources.

Jorge Rueda, a writer from Big Big News, contributed to the report from Caracas, Venezuela.

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