Fishermen in the Rio’s Dirty Olympic bay
The day is still dark when Edmo Rodrigues da Costa sets out in his 20-foot fishing boat, carefully maneuvering around clumps of trash and mounds of putrid sludge in the sewage-infested waters of Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay.
For 30 years, Costa has trolled the bay that will host Olympic sailing events in 2016, setting his nets by the pink dawn light, hoping to catch sea bass, Atlantic bigeyes and shrimp.
But slowly, year after year, the catches have diminished.
A good day out two decades ago would bring in $200 worth of fish. Today, Costa says a successful haul fetches $50. Sometimes, the floating refuse he finds is worth more than his catch, like the recent day he found two large planks of hardwood and yanked them aboard.
He and 30 or so other fishermen work out of the garbage-strewn docks sitting right under the Red Line highway leading to the international airport, where the polluted waters of the Fundao and Cunha canals meet to flow into Guanabara. The men blame industrial and sewage pollution for their empty nets.
“We’re here in this sewage, living here with this trash,” Costa says. “Nothing is done to clean it up.”
In this Feb. 28, 2015 photo, a bottle and wood floats with other trash in Guanabara bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio state authorities say they’re working to make good on a pledge made in Rio’s Olympic bid to cut the bay’s pollution by 80 percent. The bay will host Olympic sailing events in 2016. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Feb. 28, 2015 photo, fisherman Edmo Rodrigues da Costa, 59, pulls planks of wood into his boat which he found floating in Guanabara bay as he made his way back to the docks after a morning of fishing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A good day two decades ago would bring in $200 worth of fish, but today, Costa says a successful haul fetches $50. Sometimes the floating trash he finds is worth more than his catch, like these two large planks of hardwood. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Feb. 28, 2015 photo, fisherman Edmo Rodrigues da Costa hurls a weight into the water as he casts a net in Guanabara bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For 30 years, the 59-year-old fisherman has trolled the bay that will host Olympic sailing events in 2016, setting his nets at dawn, hoping to catch sea bass, Atlantic bigeyes and shrimp. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Feb. 28, 2015 photo, dead fish and trash float inside a discarded drawer in Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio state authorities say they’re working to make good on an Olympic pledge to cut the bay’s pollution by 80 percent, but local fishermen who see the water up close day after day say they’ve witnessed little improvement. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Feb. 28, 2015 photo, a poor catch sits in the basket of fisherman Edmo Rodrigues da Costa as he navigates his boat back to the dock in the Vila Pinheiro slum, part of the Mare complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These nine fish are all he had to show for four hours of early morning fishing. Slowly, year after year, fishermens' catches have diminished in the sewage-infested waters of the city's Guanabara bay. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Feb. 28, 2015 photo, trash litters the dock in the Vila Pinheiro slum, part of the Mare complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. High tides bring in waves of garbage daily, so fishermen don’t bother trying to keep the docks clean. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Feb. 28, 2015 photo, trash floats on the water along a fence line in Guanabara bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. About 30 fishermen work out of the garbage-strewn docks sitting right under the Red Line highway leading to the international airport, where the polluted waters of the Fundao and Cunha canals meet to flow into the bay. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this March 3, 2015 photo, a fisherman repairs his net at the dock in the Vila Pinheiro slum, part of the Mare complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For decades, fishermen have trolled the bay that will host Olympic sailing events in 2016, setting their nets at dawn, hoping to catch sea bass, Atlantic bigeyes and shrimp. But slowly, year after year, the catches have diminished. The men blame industrial and sewage pollution for their empty nets. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this March 3, 2015 photo, fisherman Cicero Romao Batista smokes after a morning of fishing in Guanabara Bay at the dock in the Vila Pinheiro slum, part of the Mare complex in Rio de Janeiro. The 69-year-old widower who's been fishing since the 1970s said he still fishes to supplement his monthly government pension. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Feb. 28, 2015 photo, Manuel Batista de Moraes repairs a fishing net as he sits at the dock, located on a canal that connects to Guanabara bay, in the Vila Pinheiro slum, part of the Mare complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “In the past we fished all kinds of species right here in this canal,” said the 76-year-old fisherman who now repairs nets instead of going out into the water. “Now it’s just full of filth and more filth.” (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this March 3, 2015 photo, fisherman Cicero Romao Batista docks his boat at the dock in the Vila Pinheiro slum, part of the Mare complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Batista said that getting in and out of the dock is a "sacrifice" due to the trash littering the bay. The 69-year-old widow said he's been fishing since the 1970's and sometimes sleeps on his boat. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Feb. 28, 2015 photo, fisherman Edmo Rodrigues da Costa shows a shrimp he caught in Guanabara bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio state authorities say they’re working to make good on a pledge made in Rio’s Olympic bid to cut the bay’s pollution by 80 percent. But Costa, 59, and the other fishermen who see the water up close day after day say they’ve witnessed little improvement. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this March 3, 2015 photo, residents stand outside the fish market at the dock in the Vila Pinheiro slum, part of the Mare complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Local fishermen bring their morning catches around 11am to the market on the dock where residents can find fish like "corvinas," "olho de cao" and "tainha" at lower prices than at supermarkets. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this March 3, 2015 photo, a cutlassfish caught in Guanabara bay lays on a fisherman's bike, which he planned to take home, at the dock in the Vila Pinheiro slum, part of the Mare complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Slowly, year after year, fishermen's catches have diminished. The men blame industrial and sewage pollution for their empty nets. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this Feb. 28, 2015 photo, a street cat that survives on fish scraps nestles on a net being repaired by Manuel Batista de Moraes at the dock in the Vila Pinheiro slum, part of the Mare complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 76-year-old fisherman no longer goes out on the water and makes his living mending fishing nets. It’s a constant task, he said, because the trash that fishermen encounter rips the nets apart. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
In this March 3, 2015 photo, a fisherman returns to the dock in the Vila Pinheiro slum, part of the Mare complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For decades, fishermen have trolled the bay that will host Olympic sailing events in 2016, hoping to catch sea bass, Atlantic bigeyes and shrimp. But slowly, year after year, the catches have diminished. The men blame industrial and sewage pollution for their empty nets. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)