Kattia Cambronero, a PLP Congresswoman, voiced her strong opposition to a recent initiative by INCOPESCA to reintroduce the capture and use of live bait in fishing for the longline sector. According to the legislator, this plan seriously endangers Costa Rican marine ecosystems and negatively affects artisanal and sport fishermen.
“It is not acceptable that INCOPESCA, without technical studies or corresponding scientific criteria, wants to revive an activity banned since 2014. In Golfo Dulce, as well as in the Gulf of Nicoya and the Gulf of Papagayo, live bait fishing is prohibited,” said Cambronero. Species such as sailfish, hammerhead sharks, and turtles, which could be caught incidentally with this technique, would be at serious risk.
This plan was communicated to the sectors at a meeting held on July 17 at 2 pm at the facilities of the National System of Conservation Areas in Osa (SINAC-ACOSA). INCOPESCA intends to launch a research project with about 40 longline vessels in Golfito, each permitted to take up to 800 units of live bait out of the Gulf each time they are required.
“As is customary at the institution, the alleged study lacks scientific support and also represents a major setback in conservation and reproduction efforts for sensitive species such as hammerhead sharks,” denounced Cambronero.
Currently, longline fishermen are prohibited from using live bait within the first 30 nautical miles in the Pacific Ocean, specifically in Golfo Dulce, the Gulf of Nicoya, and the Gulf of Papagayo. The prohibition was established because there is a high level of bycatch of non-target species.
“It is unacceptable that INCOPESCA is once again putting marine ecosystems and artisanal fishermen at risk with practices that lack technical and scientific criteria. We will investigate in depth the actions that we are denouncing,” mentioned the PLP Congresswoman.
The deputy’s office sent an official letter to the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Victor Carvajal Porras, requesting explanations. In addition, she recalled Bill 23.643, presented by PLP Deputy Eliécer Feinzaig, which intends to declare the sailfish as a symbol of the economic and social development of our coasts and to reserve it exclusively for tourist and sport catch-and-release fishing.
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