February 11, 2005 – San Jose, Costa Rica<br \/><\/p>\n
On February 10, 2005 Costa Rican senators unanimously approved a new
\nnational fisheries law. The proposed law has been debated since 1995,
\nwhen parts of an antiquated fisheries law from 1948 were ruled
\nunconstitutional. <br \/><\/p>\n
<br \/><\/p>\n
The new law includes a prohibition on <a href="http:\/\/www.tortugamarina.org\/content\/category\/5\/79\/68\/">shark<\/a>
\nfinning and creates fines and jail terms for those involved in landing
\nshark fins at Costa Rican ports. There are also stiff penalties for
\nanyone who harms endangered sea turtles and the law requires shrimp
\nfishermen to use TEDs, special devices which allow sea turtles to
\nescape from shrimp nets. <br \/><\/p>\n
<br \/><\/p>\n
For nearly 10 years, fishermen, senators, industry representatives and
\nconservation groups have worked to finalize the text of the law which
\nincludes 173 articles. <br \/><\/p>\n
<br \/><\/p>\n
Along with many senators, PRETOMA opposes portions of the new law that
\npromote overexploitation of Costa Rica's ocean resources, such as free
\npermits to foreign vessels to fish tuna in Costa Rica's national waters
\nand increased sport fishing. Senator Rodrigo Alberto Carazo has already
\nmade a call for modifications to the articles that grant free permits
\nto foreign tuna vessels. <br \/><\/p>\n
<br \/><\/p>\n
Four years ago PRETOMA led a campaign that halted the passage of a
\nprevious draft of the fishery law which would have granted even greater
\nlicenses to foreign fleets to fish in Costa Rican waters. <br \/><\/p>\n
<br \/><\/p>\n
"The last thing Costa Rican fishermen and ocean species need are more
\nvessels fishing in our waters and the region," says Randall Arauz,
\nPresident of PRETOMA. "If we truly want commercial and endangered
\nspecies to recover we need to limit fleets, especially large advanced
\nforeign fleets. And we need a moratorium on longlining in the
\ninternational waters of the Eastern Pacific."<br \/><\/p>\n
<br \/><\/p>\n
Large foreign longline fleets that set millions of hooks began arriving
\nto the region in the 1980s. Since then, the number of leatherback sea
\nturtles nesting on the Pacific coast of Central America has declined by
\n97% and many national fishermen are struggling because commercial
\nspecies have been depleted. <br \/><\/p>\n
<br \/><\/p>\n
"Due to the fact that so many species, such as sea turtles, dolphins,
\ntuna, mahi mahi, rays, swordfish, sailfish and sharks migrate
\nthroughout the region, the only way to truly keep from wiping them out
\nis to work on a regional level," says Arauz. "This new law combined
\nwith a recent halt to illegal landings by foreign vessels at private
\ndocks and the Ministry of Environment's vision for creating some form
\nof protection for 25% of Costa Rican waters, are important steps.
\nHowever, even with the best laws and policies in Costa Rica, without
\nregional cooperation species and fisheries are still threatened."<br \/><\/p>\n
<br \/><\/p>\n
PRETOMA (Programa Restauración de Tortugas Marinas) is a Costa Rican
\nnon-profit, non-governmental, marine conservation organization that
\nworks to promote responsible fisheries and protect sea turtles, sharks
\nand marine biodiversity. Contact info@tortugamarina.org.<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
February 11, 2005 – San Jose, Costa Rica<br \/> On February 10, 2005 Costa Rican senators unanimously approved a new national fisheries law. The proposed law has been debated since 1995, when parts of an antiquated fisheries law from 1948 were ruled unconstitutional. <br \/> <br \/> The new law includes a prohibition on <a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases"],"yoast_head":"\n