President Luis Guillermo Solís signed a decree Tuesday restricting industrial tuna fishing in Costa Rican waters.The decree is one of the first attempts to establish fishing zones in Costa Rica’s massive ocean territory and regulate the international super fleets that currently pull in the vast majority of the country’s tuna catch.
A nonprofit fishing group, the Costa Rican Fishing Federation (FECOP), filed a constitutional complaint last week alleging that a law granting free fishing licenses to international tuna boats is unconstitutional.
Costa Rica's Ombudsman's Office issued a statement Tuesday urging the government to prioritize marine resource management. According to research by the agency – which is responsible for petitioning the state on behalf of Costa Rican citizens – climate change, poor technology, inadequate marine management and a lack of political will have depleted the country's marine resources.
The new plan unites into one group the 10 Costa Rican coastal towns that have special community-managed fishing zones. The group is called the National Network of Responsible Fishing Areas.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday will announce his intent to make a broad swath of the central Pacific Ocean off limits to fishing, energy exploration and other activities, according to senior White House officials. The proposal, slated to go into effect later this year after a comment period, could create the world's largest marine sanctuary and double the area of ocean globally that is fully protected.
In its toughest move yet to eradicate illegal fishing, the European Union on Monday blacklisted Belize, effectively banning the country's products from the world's most valuable seafood market.
