Colombia and Panama Updates – June 2022

Sportfishing Banned in Colombia – Beginning in 2023 The Supreme Court of Colombia recently ruled that sportfishing, even catch and release, amounts to torture, thus prohibiting the sport in marine and fresh waters. The court decision proclaimed the practice “violates the principles of environmental protection and animal welfare” and “demonstrates the risk of damage to the environment.” The prohibition is to be phased in over the next year. We at TBF are extremely disappointed the issue did not meet a formidable challenge before reaching the highest court in the nation. Their burgeoning sportfishing industry will surely suffer. To prevent