Part of a series on the artisan fisihg in Valdes Peninsula, Patagonia, Argentina.
The Valdes Peninsula is an important nature reserve on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, in the region known as Patagonia. With its 3,625 km2, was declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999. The reserve protects endangered marine fauna as southern right whales and elephant seals, and its breeding areas. Most of the peninsula is barren land with some salt lakes, and almost non-inhabited, with some estancias where sheep are raised, and a number of small coastal settlements with a reduced number of people, living mostly of subsistence fishing practices. These artisan fishermen use small boats, drag nets by hand from the shore, or take scallops from the bottom using old diving equipments and air compressors, with bad consequences for the health of the divers. These photographs are part of a larger series on the artisan fishing practices Patagonia, and the pressures between large-scale modern commercial fishing practices and traditional methods, where also the impact on a protected area and its fragile natural ecosystems are an important issue.