Interior

Fishermen face daily struggle to survive

RAFAEL QUEZADA/LA PRENSA

HARD WORK: The typical fisherman works 18 hours a day, from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feeding a family is a challenge.956476

Guillermo Gálvez, a fisherman from El Salado Aguadulce in Coclé, relies on his inner strength to keep going.

His day starts at 3 a.m. when he sets out in search of fish. It ends around 6 p.m. when he returns with what he hopes is enough food to feed himself and his family, with a little left over to sell so he can put gas in his boat.

Gálvez is one of about 70 fishermen in this tiny community who scratch out a living from the sea. And they all see their lives changing like the tide.

For 20 years the residents of this oceanside community made a decent living harvesting salt, at one time a much surer way to pay the bills than fishing. But the salt market dried up, forcing residents to look to the sea.

The community is now segmented in three parts, the fishermen, the owners of a few shops and restaurants and the rest of the residents who work to attract tourists.

Their efforts have yielded little, not least of all because the area’s infrastructure and development have lagged far behind other oceanside communities.

Diana de Gracia, who serves on the Comité Comunitario and is president of the Cooperativa de Pescadores de Aguadulce, said the community has been forgotten by the authorities.

"We urgently need a medical clinic and a police station," she said. "When there is an accident, there is no aid available."

And when fights start, there is no one to break them up.

Gracia also said that very few young people finish high school, leaving them with few options.

So they start going out to sea with their fathers and brothers, hoping the day’s catch will lead to a brighter future.