More than 600 fishermen and environmentalists united Thursday morning to protest a bill that would reinstate shrimp trawling in Costa Rican waters. "Pesca arrastre es un desastre," they shouted.
President Laura Chinchilla announced new, stricter tuna fishing rules during her opening remarks at the Fourth Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop in Playa Herradura on Monday.
Costa Rica will begin slowly phasing out shrimp trawling Tuesday with the first permanent expiration of a trawling license. The Capitán Bonilla will become the first vessel forced to discontinue the practice following an August court ruling that declared shrimp trawling unconstitutional.
A new campaign hopes to pressure a move by President Laura Chinchilla to fire the board of directors of the Costa Rican Fisheries Institute, which is loaded with fishing industry insiders.
