Every year, fish markets in the seaside Mexican city of Veracruz flood with a crush of customers in the lead up to Holy Week. This year, they were virtually empty.

That’s because a huge oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico has spread more than 600 kilometres across the ocean and seeped into seven nature reserves. Mexicans who have worked in Veracruz’s booming fishing industry for years say they’ve been dealt a blow at one of the busiest times of the year.

Markets usually jammed with customers were desolate on Friday, with some vendors loudly promoting their products in a desperate attempt to attract customers. Fishing has declined off the coasts of the seaside states of Veracruz, Tabasco and Tamaulipas since the spill.

“This is our livelihood,” said a worried Miguel López Rojas, owner of one of the fish stalls in the popular market.

Authorities in the country said that the spill originated from a vessel anchored off the coast of the port city of Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz state and two “natural seepages.”

The government estimates that about 430 tons of hydrocarbons have been collected along the coasts of the three Mexican states, but have ruled out severe environmental damage from the spill. Despite that, reports and images have been circulated by local media of dead turtles, eels and fish washing up on Mexican beaches and floating near shorelines.

López Rojas said that the oil spill hasn’t only caused a dramatic drop in fish supplies, but also a decline in purchases, as consumers are avoiding the product.

Amid public concern, federal health authorities have denied any reports of illnesses linked to consuming fish or seafood because of possible contamination.

But concern nonetheless has circulated across the country.

Susana Gutiérrez, a 67-year-old seamstress, said from a market in Mexico City that “you have to be careful with the pollution because we still don’t know what this spill could lead to.”

As federal and state authorities intensify efforts to contain the spill and clean up beaches, fisherman have also struggled to make ends meet as they have been forced to almost completely halt fishing to prevent boat engines and nets from being contaminated with oil, effectively losing their main source of income.

“This year has been very disastrous for us, because in all my years of life we had never experienced something of this magnitude,” said Norma González Pérez, a fisherwoman from the town of Salinas in southwestern Veracruz.

Veracruz is one of Mexico’s main fish producers. In 2024, the eastern state generated about 2.76% of the country’s fish, oyster and seafood production, according to official figures. Fish are an essential component to many of the state’s traditional plates.

Authorities haven’t yet provided an estimate of how many fishermen have been affected by the spill, but activists say it could be several hundred. González Pérez said things have become so bad for some fishermen that they have had to resort to bank loans.

Holy Week, once a festive season for them marked by an abundance because of an annual fish migration in the Gulf of Mexico, now feels a lot more grim, she said.

“This year there will be no celebration or anything,” González Pérez said. “This year we will basically have nothing.”