Costa Rica delays fishing law reforms affecting tuna purse-seiners

Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly has instituted a six-month delay on a bill that would have pushed Costa Rica’s tuna purse-seiners out to beyond 100 miles from its coast.Costa Rica has no nationally-flagged tuna-fishing vessels, but allows vessels from Venezuela and Nicaragua to fish up to 9,000 metric tons (MT) of yellowfin tuna in its territorial waters, with the requirement that it all be processed at a canning facility in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.The proposed legislation would have prohibited foreign-flagged tuna purse-seiners from fishing within 100 miles of Costa Rica’s coastline. It received initial approval in the Legislative Assembly in December 2020, but in March, it was pulled prior to a second vote, which would have sent it to Costa Rica President Carlos Alvarado Quesada for his signature or veto.The bill was backed by the Costa Rican Fisheries Federation (FECOP), a non-profit that represents sport-fishing associations, as well as environmental non-governmental ...