Tag Archives: Costa Rica
Tussling for tuna: Costa Rican fishermen want more access to a local tuna
Robert Nunes is a commercial fisherman who actively defends his peers in Costa Rica’s commercial fishing industry. He volunteers a lot of his time with Mauricio Gonzalez, director of the Camera de Palangreros (or the chamber of longliners) traveling the country lobbying for fisherman’s rights. Longlining is a type of fishing that boats set miles of hooks across the ocean and is not selective in what type of fish takes the bait placed on a hook. This has caused grief among many different groups who support, sharks, marlin, and sailfish that some people consider bycatch to a longline boat. The longline sector does not consider these species bycatch as the total catch is utilized and nothing gets wasted.>click to read<18:50
Fish, Drugs, and Murder – As fisheries along this idyllic looking coast unravel, so does social order.
Lieutenant Olivier Ramirez didn’t waste time. On an August morning in 2015, he scrambled a small coast guard team on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. Local fishermen had spotted poachers hauling nets full of shimmering fish from the Gulf of Nicoya. Ramirez hoped to catch the offenders and press charges. But that morning, little went according to plan: Ramirez and his men intercepted the poachers close to their home base and within minutes, the officers were in serious trouble. Dozens of poachers were swarming to the scene, wielding rocks, machetes, quarter-stick explosives, and Molotov cocktails. Audio, click here to read the story 07:55
Walmart Exposed for Selling Dolphin-Deadly Tuna in Costa Rica
Investigations by the nonprofit International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) have revealed that, in its Costa Rican locations, Walmart has been selling its own brand of canned tuna that has been caught using fishing methods that harass and kill dolphins. These practices make Walmart’s tuna brand — called Suli — dolphin-deadly, though Suli tuna cans carry a misleading seal claiming that the tuna is dolphin safe.,,, In what appears to be a deliberate attempt to mislead consumers, on its Suli label, Walmart includes a blue dolphin seal with the words: “Tuna caught under dolphin protection standards” in Spanish. The cans also note that the tuna is a “Product of Mexico.” click here to read the article 15:00
Costa Rica stands with fishermen – will not protect any shark species of “commercial interest”
Luis, spotting globe trotter clf Peter Shelley in the crowd, issues the Green one finger salute, which we edited out for the children.
In a move that is being condemned by numerous conservation groups, the government of Costa Rican president, Luis Guillermo Solis has promised the commercial fishing sector that it will “not propose or support” the inclusion of shark species with commercial value to be protected in Costa Rican waters – or anywhere, for that matter – regardless if such species are threatened or endangered. The government will also actively take part in the promotion of shark fin exports, which will unleash an Enviro backlash that will rival the demonstrations when Keystone X finally,,,,,,, Read the rest here 15:43
