The fish Juan Maurice is catching are so small they’re best thrown into a frying pan. Even so, they won’t fatten this out-of-work builder who has lost 16 kilograms (35 pounds) over the past two years. Impoverished by Venezuela’s crisis, Maurice, who now weighs 75 kilograms (165 pounds), is trying his luck by casting a net with his uncle in the brackish, polluted waters of northwestern Venezuela’s Maracaibo Lake just to have anything to eat. “One day I might be here, and the next I might be in the mountain looking for rabbits and iguanas,” the 35-year-old explains to AFP. His drawn face looks much older than his years. His net has 20 fish in it. They are of a type that can grow up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) in length but his are less than a third of that. He also snared a small blue crab and three slender, boney catfish that usually aren’t eaten. Maurice used to live well enough as a builder and welder in this region, Venezuela’s industrial oil hub. “Before, my salary was enough to eat, save a little, decorate my home,” he says, plucking the fish out. Published in Daily Times, March 21st 2019.