In Venezuela, the corruption and abuses behind the exploitation of its main natural resources—oil and minerals—are well known. But between years of opacity, scarcity of information, and the dismantling of monitoring institutions, in addition to the economic crisis, the illegal exploitation, extraction, and trade of the country's marine species has been hidden with great success. While regulations exist in Venezuela, they are not complied with nor is there anyone to enforce them and many of the regulations are outdated.
The series represents the most reliable and updated information on marine exploitation in Venezuela and aspires to portray the failures of a system linked to the dismantling of environmental institutions. The four proposed axes:
- How far do Chinese ships or trade reach the limit of Venezuelan territorial waters with international waters?
- The Venezuelan sea cucumber (Actinopyga echinites) business.
- The cheating catalog of marine species by the Venezuelan government and its beneficiaries
- The rise of illegal planting of invasive red algae (Kappaphycus alvarezii)
