Dead Fish Prompt Rumors of New Camisea Spill

As of June 6, 2006, several communications have come from organizations working in the Lower Urubamba including the Machiguenga council, COMARU and the Escuela para el Desarrollo have reported evidence of some contaminant in the Camisea River that has been killing fish. The Community Monitoring Program (PMAC) has not yet issued a report. Pluspetrol has evidently denied that there has been any spill and has blamed the fish deaths on the use of the toxic plant barbasco for fishing in one of the Camisea's tributaries in the community of Segakiato. Tensions are apparently high between the company and the communities, and the latter are calling for independent experts to come and assess the reason for the fish dye-off. The communities are reporting a contaminant much stronger than the traditionally-used barbasco.