We love Costa Rica. We love the lush green hillsides that tumble to the sea. We love waking up to birds and monkeys foraging for tropical fruits in the trees above. We love watching sea turtles return to the nesting beaches they were born on.

We love listening to untamed rivers as they crash through the rainforest. We’re here because we love nature in all its splendid colors, sounds, and actions.

But what if Costa Rica loses its identity? What if private interests become too strong and succeed in depleting one of the most biodiverse corners of the earth? What if life in Costa Rica becomes ecologically mundane and no different from everywhere else on the planet?

If this started to happen, would you fight to protect your way of life here? Or would you accept the destruction as just an inevitable side effect of economic growth and modern development trends?

Well, it’s happening.

The Costa Rican government recently announced a series of egregious decisions that ignore science based ecosystem management practices in order to facilitate short-term, destructive fishing strategies. The first of these decision involves the government’s choice to continue to fish a variety of internationally protected shark species.

Sharks in Costa Rican waters attract thousands of scuba divers to this country each year. According to a 2012 US Geological Survey and National Geographic study, a Cocos Island hammerhead shark, if allowed to live out its 35 year life span, will bring in 1.6 million dollars ($82,000/yr) in tourism revenue.

Unfortunately for the hammerhead, its fins fetch a few hundred dollars a kilo in foreign markets. For this reason private shark finning interests have convinced the Costa Rican government to turn a blind eye to shark protection strategies and favor short-term shark fishery development activities (because we all
know that a couple hundred dollars is better than 1.6 million, right??).

A second example is the government’s persistence to overturn a court decision that phases out the use of semi-industrial shrimp trawl vessels by 2019. The destructive nature of this fishery is well documented the world over. In Costa Rica the fleet has been reduced to around 40 vessels for economic reasons as boats have overfished the shrimp population and destroyed the sea floor by dragging their nets along the bottom.

The trawls that continue to operate now target snapper, the very same fish that thousands of artisanal fishermen and women depend on to support their families. Today, with the snapper population in crisis, the government is supporting a project to overturn the court’s decision and make shrimp trawling legal again.

Much like the government’s decision to continue to fish sharks, its support of a destructive shrimp fishery will benefit a few individuals and negatively impact the economic livelihoods of thousands of artisanal fishermen and women. These actions add to a growing list of concerning government decisions that do not favor the majority of Costa Ricans and most certainly do not favor the expatriate community’s desires to conserve the beautiful examples of nature that we currently enjoy.

The Costa Rican Environmental and Educational Network (ARCAE) was founded in 2011 by concerned Costa Ricans and foreign residents wanting to make a difference. It is currently implementing sustainable fishing solutions. If you are interested in learning more and supporting ARCAE’s work, please visit Costa Rican Conservation Network´s Blog or contact its executive director Andy Bystrom at Andy Bystrom.

Written by Andy Bystrom who is the founder of the Costa Rican Conservation Network.  The Costa Rican Environmental and Educational Network (ARCAE) was founded in 2011 by concerned Costa Ricans and foreign residents wanting to make a difference. It is currently implementing sustainable fishing solutions. 

If you would like more information regarding community development projects, please email Andy Bystrom here.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.