I am a small-scale fisherman working the beach of Bujama Baja. It lies in Mala district of the Canete province in Peru’s Lima department. I have been plying my trade for 34 years, fully engaged in the only livelihood I was given by God: the sea. I am registered with the authorities under the number CO-15443290-BM. To friends and family, I am just Alejandro Bravo Avalos.

The Bujama Baja beach has been a fishing ground for a very long time; local fisherfolk live in small huts here. At some point, people from the capital began building summer houses on the beach, alienating and displacing the local population. The newcomers tried to intimidate and displace us with their economic and political power in the 1990s. The illiterate, powerless locals– our grandparents–felt this was an abuse of power. They insisted on educating us. Many local residents supported us.

In recent years, we created the Asociacion Gremio de Pescadores Artesanales (Artisanal Fisher’s Association Guild) of San Pedro de Bujama Baja, registered in Mala. It continues the legacy of the local maritime workers’ organization created in the 1930s. We represent a new generation of fishers resisting widespread abuse of power in order to maintain our presence in all types of fishery operations. Through a continuous dialogue, we have managed to reach a long-term agreement with the owners of second homes in the area.