Costa Rica’s Tuna Reform Law – Billfish Impacts Uncertain

As reported recently in the Tico Times, a new Costa Rican tuna law requires all purse seine vessels (none of which are owned by Costa Rican interests) to fish outside of 80 miles from shore. Previously, a 2014 Presidential Decree required the vessels to fish outside 45 miles. This, the Times reported, “created an amazing recovery for sportfishing, except for sailfish” catches, which increased with the commercial longline fishery. Sailfish are very important to the nation’s sportfishing eco-tourism trade, once earning the nation the recognition of Sailfish Capital of the World, now held by Guatemala.   Unfortunately, under current regulations, if

NMFS Still Considering Gear and Quota Changes in Atlantic

Pelagic longline “research” decisions not yet issued that could authorize the gear to fish inside waters closed for 19 and 20 years off of Florida’s east coast, Charleston and in the Gulf of Mexico. The closures were implemented to reduce longline bycatch mortality of overfished swordfish, marlin, sailfish, tunas, sharks, sea turtles and marine mammals.  Swordfish stocks have recovered, but not the other species for which the waters were closed. If “longline research” inside the closed waters is authorized, it will be a clear indication the NMFS is writing- off the recovery of overfished billfish and the other species

More Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Allocation for Anglers?

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently released an Options Paper to amend the current Individual Bluefin Quota (IBQ) strategy, implemented to reduce incidental bycatch of bluefin, in the pelagic longline fishery for public review. The allocation of bluefin tuna to all user categories may be changed. Why should the recreational community care? For two primary reasons, the NMFS is advancing an amendment (13) to the Atlantic Consolidated Fishery Management Plan for Highly Migratory Species. One, the U.S. commercial fleet is not landing its international allocated Atlantic bluefin quota, leaving the unused portion subject to reallocation to other

Panama on the Chinese Maritime Silk Road?

Could China’s heavy financial investments in and aid to Panama along with the 47 recent trade agreements between the two nations possibly lead to a diminishment of Pacific fish stock abundance and sportfishing experiences in Panama?  Possibly. That was the fear among sportfishing and eco-tourism interests in Panama when recently learning that 13 large purse seine fishing vessels currently in Peru may soon be catching cobia and black skipjack tuna (bonito) off Panama, as part of an agreement with China. The purse seine caught fish are to be transshipped to a large Chinese processing vessel offshore in international

Recreational Fishing Opportunities Maybe Threatened in Panama

A nice yellowfin tuna caught off Panama

Recreational fishing in Panama and throughout Central America is likely to feel negative impacts from a fishery partnership between Panama and China established through recent trade agreements on December 3, 2018. The agreement will allow tons of skipjack tuna to be caught by purse seine vessels and transshipped to Chinese commercial factory trawlers in international waters. TBF has learned that 13 purse seine vessels in Peru are being brought to Panama to fish in Panama’s waters. Debate on whether purse seine vessels can fish in Panama’s waters has been on-going since