Paraguay River hits record low, imperiling economy

The banks of Asuncion Bay are exposed as the Paraguay River hits a historic low during a drought in Asuncion, Paraguay, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

In this Aug. 21, 2021 file photo, a family is silhouetted against a reddish dusk caused by fires from the countryside, as they stand in the bay, connected to the Paraguay River in Asuncion, Paraguay. The water level hit a historic low on Sept. 23, 2021 amid a drought. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)

An ancient extinct volcano is exposed by the low level of the Paraguay river, in Asuncion amid a historic drought that is affecting the river's level, in Paraguay, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Barges loaded with cement navigate the channel between the beach and an ancient extinct volcano, exposed by the low level of the Paraguay river, in Asuncion amid a historic drought that is affecting the its level, in Paraguay, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Mbigua birds flies near a sand bank exposed by the low level of Paraguay river, in Asuncion amid a historic drought that is affecting the its level, in Paraguay, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Framed through a cave opening at Ita Pyta Punta or Cape Red Rock, empty boats sit moored on the banks of the Paraguay River, in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021, amid a prolonged drought, resulting in low water levels. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Boats languish over the last pools of water available on the Payagua stream that reaches the Paraguay river amid a historic drought that is affecting its levels, in Chaco-i, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

People fish on the exposed bed of the Paraguay river, as a column of smoke rises on the other shore, amid a historic drought that is affecting the river´s level, in Mariano Roque Alonso, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Barges wait to be transported amid an ongoing drought that is affecting the water levels of the Paraguay river in San Miguel bank beach, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

A boy covers his face from the dust amid an ongoing drought, in Chaco-i, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

An egret rest on the water´s edge as other birds fly near the port of Asuncion, amid a historic drought that is affecting the river's level, in Paraguay, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

A man fishes down on the exposed support beams of the port of Asuncion amid a historic drought that is affecting the river's level, in Paraguay, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Mollusks cover the exposed bed of the San Francisco stream that reaches the Paraguay river amid a historic drought that is affecting its levels, in Mariano Roque Alonso, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

People walk on the exposed bed of a branch of the Paraguay river that has gone dry, in Lambare, Paraguay, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, amid an ongoing drought. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

A couple sits on the exposed bed of the Paraguay River, in Villeta, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021, amid an ongoing drought. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Fishmonger Dionisio Romero, 70, offers a "Dorado" to customers at his shop in Mariano Roque Alonso, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Romero is now buying fish more than 300 kilometers downstream because the ongoing drought has lowered the water to historical levels. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

The spent and polluted San Francisco stream, right, reaches the Paraguay river amid a historic drought that is affecting its levels, in Mariano Roque Alonso, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Cristopher Benegas, 12, fishes in what's left of the Payagua stream, a tributary of the Paraguay River, in Chaco I, Paraguay, early Friday, Aug. 27, 2021. Lack of rain in the Paraguay-Brazil pantanal in the north is threatening to break last year's record when the river dropped to historical levels. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

People fish on the exposed bed of the Paraguay River, in Villeta, Paraguay, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021, amid an ongoing drought. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

A fisherman eats below the exposed support beams of the port of Asuncion, amid a historic drought that is affecting the river's level, in Paraguay, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Paraguay's crucial outlet to the sea fell to its lowest level in at least 117 years on Thursday, threatening massive economic losses to the small South American nation.

Government figures showed the Paraguay River at 56 centimeters (22 inches) below reference in Asuncion, the capital, about 2 centimeters below last year's previous record.

Oscar Hugo Rodríguez Salcedo, manager of hydrological observations for Directorate of Meteorology and Hydrology, said it was the lowest level recorded at the capital since records began in 1904.

“The possible collapse (of navigation), if it continues this way, would come in about three weeks because there are very critical stages all along the river,” said Esteban Dos Santos, president of the association of maritime companies.

The national Public Works Ministry has ordered dredging of key points along the river so that vessels with a 10-foot draft can pass. Currently, only those with a 7-foot draft can navigate key passages.

The 2,600-kilometer (1,615-mile) river is a crucial commercial gateway to the Atlantic for an otherwise landlocked nation, and also a key source of fish.

“The people come to look for surubi and pacu (two popular local fish species), but our fishermen aren't catching like before because of the reduction," said Eulalia Martínez, who sells fish in Remanso, about 22 kilometers (14 miles) north of the capital.

Dos Santos said a similar situation in 2020 caused losses of about $300 million because so many boats were unable to navigate the river with full cargo, or at all.

Government hydrology director Nelson Pérez said Paraguay the upcoming season bodes ill as well due to a La Nina phenomenon “that will bring more drought. The forecast is not good, but it is only a forecast," he said.