It is disappointing to learn that a tuna law reform that would see better protection for dolphins deliberately caught in purse seine tuna fishing off Costa Rica has been delayed. Despite not having its own tuna fishing fleet, Costa Rica is one of the few countries that still allow this practice to continue – encircling dolphins with nets to capture yellowfin tuna fish, both species are known to swim together in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). Costa Rica sells licenses to foreign vessels (usually from Venezuela and Nicaragua), however, there are many other countries including Mexico and Colombia, that also fish in the ETP area that are just as responsible for causing dozens of dolphin deaths.
Fishing vessels do use a system to release the dolphins once they are caught in the vast nets, but around 2,000 still die annually as many fleets persist in targeting and netting the marine mammals knowing that tuna are present. Hundreds of dolphins are harassed in the process with calves often being separated from their mothers. The dolphin pods are mainly coastal animals and the tuna reform law, once updated, would greatly reduce these deaths as it would mean tuna boats would be made to fish between 80 and 100 miles from land – the only ones against the plan is the tuna industry. Nearly 85% of all purse seine fishing in Costa Rica involves the capture of dolphins, to date more than 7 million have been killed in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Tuna fishery by this method alone.
Read Marine Connection’s report on Bycatch and Cetaceans
