TBF & OSPESCA- Working Together in Central America

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The Billfish Foundation is working with OSPESCA (the Organización Sector Pesquero y Aquícola del Istmo Centroamericano) on two exciting initiatives in Central America.  Through TBF’s Expanded Central American Tagging Program and the Central American Sportfishing Data Collection System, TBF is working with sportfishing interests, government fisheries managers and policy makers to lay the foundation for lasting conservation.

The programs commenced with a tour of in-person workshops in fishing destinations throughout the region.  Beginning in August of 2010, TBF Conservation Workshops have been held in: Costa Rica (Puerto Jimenez, Quepos, Los Sueños and Playa del Coco), San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua and Panama (Isla San Jose and two workshops in Panama City).  In November, workshops were held at Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala and in conjunction with the El Salvador International Billfish Tournament in that nation.  TBF has scheduled workshops in Belize and Honduras for early 2011.  The TBF Central American Expanded Tagging Program has distributed to date nearly 6,000 tags free of charge to the sportfishing community in Central America.  The tags provide the foundation for increased recapture rates and the ability to illustrate the importance of regional management.  The Central American Sportfishing Data Collection System provides the first centralized database of sportfishing in the history of the region.  This tool is of central importance to conservation.