(March 8, 2010 – San José, Costa Rica).

The Comptrollership Court of Costa Rica criticized the poor performance of the Ministry of Environment (MINAET), regarding the process to consolidate Las Baulas National Park, through a report issue last February 26 (DFOE-PGAA-IF-3-2010).  For the Comptrollership, this matter is of great importance, due to the importance of this National Park, created to protect the most important remaining nesting site for leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the Eastern Pacific.

The report points out strong weaknesses in the geographic delimitation of the Park’s boundaries, as well as inconsistencies in the expropriation process of the lands, specifically the appraisal, where in a brief period of 11 months, prices were raised up to 6,037%.  It also criticizes the fact that MINAET didn’t’ even react to this variation in prices, even though the State must assume the cost.  The Comptrollership warns that the project to reduce the Park’s limits will not solve the problem nor the threats to the leatherbacks, and would translate into irreversible environmental damage.

The Minister of Environment, Jorge Rodríguez, dismissed the criticism, and announce that he already filed a request to revoke the orders of the report.

“Although the position of the Minister of Environment is very disappointing, we aren’t surprised”, said Randall Arauz, of Pretoma, a Costa Rican NGO that defends the process to consolidate Las Baulas National Park.  “In spite of the orders of the Constitutional Court, the General Attorney and now the Comptrollership, as well as the opinion of the Defender of the Inhabitants, tens of thousands of Costa Rican, and the main national and international conservation NGOs, the heads of the Presidency and the MINAET insist in favoring the private interest and promoting the urban development of Las Baulas National Park.

(March 18, 2010 – San José, Costa Rica)

Las March 4, the Ministry of Environment of Costa Rica announced during a press conference that the country would support a proposal to list hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).  The proposal, which would allow for controls over the international trade of products from this species, including its fins, will be voted during the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (CoP15), to be celebrated in Doha, Qatar, from March 13-25 of the current year.

“I would like to congratulate the authorities of the MINAET and of Foreign Affairs, for the leadership our country has shown in different international forums in favor of the protection and management of sharks”, said Randall Arauz, President of Pretoma.  Arauz used the event to personally present the Minister of Environment Jorge Rodríguez, with a compilation of more than 2000 signatures of Costa Rican citizens supporting the protection of hammerhead sharks in CITES, as a result of the campaign “2000 Ticos for the Hammerhead Shark”.

“It is very encouraging to see the degree of commitment of the Costa Rican people with the global protection of shark”, said Minister Rodríguez, when he received the document.  “These signatures will travel to Qatar, and I will request that they be mentioned during the official interventions of Costa Rica on the matter”, affirmed the Minister.

MINAET also confirmed that Costa Rica will also support the oceanic white tip (Carcharhinus longimanus) proposal, common in region, as well as the porbeagle (Lamna nasus), the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), and the bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) proposals, which don’t occur in the region, but the country considers it is important to regulate their international commerce.

Last Wednesday February 17, over 100 activists sang “Happy Birthday” to the Judges of Costa Rica’s Supreme Court of Justice, to celebrate the 3rd year of waiting for a resolution that could finally put an end to shark finning in Costa Rica.

Since January of 2006, the Constitutional Court of the Supreme Court of Justice, ruled in favor of a Constitutional Lawsuit filed by Pretoma (04-001511-0007-CO), in which the use of public infrastructure is ordered for the landing of fishery products by the foreign shark finning fleet. In February of 2007, a year later, Pretoma filed a contempt suit against the Ministry of Public Transportations, Incopesca, Customs, and Ministry of Environment, because the authorities had ignored the orders of the Constitutional Court. Three years later, the Costa Rican people are still waiting for a resolution, while the foreign fleet continues to carelessly land sharks and fins in the privacy of their docks.

“With this event, the citizens want to remind the Judges that we are still waiting for a resolution on our law suit, because as long as the private docks in Puntarenas continue breaking the law, there will be shark finning in Costa Rica”, warned Randall Arauz, President of Pretoma. “Three years waiting for a resolution is just too much, and sharks can no longer take the indiscriminate fishing pressure they are under, with the blessing of our authorities”, complained Arauz.

As of now, the Costa Rican Congress (Expediente 18.890), the Comptrollership (DFOE-PGA-86/2006) and the Defender of the Inhabitants (Boletin 2, Dic 2006), have seconded the order of the Supreme Court of Justice, but the defendants continue to defend the interests of the foreign owners of the private docks in Puntarenas. In an effort to legitimize their actions, the defendants have issued resolutions that have been shot down over and over again by the Courts. Now, the defendants rely on the “Rules to authorize the landing of fishery products by national and foreign vessels (A.J.D.I.P /042-2009), which allows the use of private docks by foreign fleets if the foreign owners allow access to public functionaries. However, under this scenario, it is impossible to defend the public interest, because it is impossible to abide by public administration laws as private property is protected by the Constitution. Pretoma filed yet another constitutional lawsuit against the new rules, and is waiting for a resolution.

Current policies designed to cater to foreign sport fishing interests, say artisanal fishermen

After being stood-up for the second time by officials of the Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute, 125 artisanal fishermen of the Golfo Dulce decided to take matters into their own hands yesterday and held a peaceful protest at Incopesca’s office in the Southern Pacific port of Golfito.  The fishermen wish to discuss their concerns regarding the management of fisheries in the Golfo Dulce, and their concerns over the under recognition of their rights.

Artisinal fishermen have been calling upon the Board of Directors of Incopesca to review the policies surround the management of fisheries in the Golfo Dulce, an area recently declared a “Responsible Fisheries Community Area” by Incopesca last August 17 (La Gaceta #159).  At first, the project was presented as an attempt to improve fisheries management of the Golfo Ducle.  In order to gain public support, the authorities called for the banning of shrimp trawling and gillnetting in the Golfo Dulce, while private funds would be used to buy out the shrimp trawl fleet and economically compensate gillnetters while they were trai
ned in more sustainable fishing techniques.  The private funds to do this were generously offered by the BillFish Foundation (www.billfish.org).  However, after the declaration of the Responsible Fisheries Area, the local artisanal fishermen feel they have been deceived, and recently submitted a demand to the Board of Incopesca to nullify the Responsible Fisheries Area.

Sure enough, an undisclosed amount of private funds (up in the millions of US Dollars) was used to compensate the shrimp trawlers NOT to fish in the Golfo, but no funds were destined to compensating the artisanal fishermen.  Furthermore, stripped of gillnetting arts, local fishermen are only allowed to use traps, which have never been tested in the Golfo Dulce before, nor have fishermen been trained on their use.  To make matters worse, artisanal fishermen will only be allowed to operate in the Golfo Dulce 3 months of the year, while the rest of the year they must operate within 30 miles of the coast.  Finally, the catch and use of live bait is forbidden, except for the sports fishing industry.  The fishermen believe that their underrepresentation by the one organization that is supposed to represent them, comes from a conflict of interest involving the Billfish Foundation’s representive in Golfito, Miguel Duran. Duran is currently enjoying a 6 month leave of absence from his official post as head of Incopesca in Golfito.

“We are totally in favor of fishing restrictions and responsible fisheries practices”, said a determined Victor Rocha, President of the Golfito Fishery Sector Civilian Front.  “However, what Incopesca is doing is catering to the private interests of the sport fishing industry and the shrimp trawl industry, basing management on capricious policies that have no technical content, which only seek to eliminate the artisanal fishery sector for good and consolidate a Sport Fishing Reserve in the Golfo Dulce”.

After an hour of protesting, Incopesca promised that yet another meeting would be held, this time on Saturday in Puntarenas.  Golfito’s mayor, Jimmy Cubillo, promised to pay for the fishermen’s bus fair to Puntarenas and assured them that they would be attended by Incopesca officials even though Incopesca does not receive the public on Saturdays.

Stay tuned for more developments.

(November 24, 2009 – San José, Costa Rica)
Veronica Dabul of Argentina has won the innagural “Shark Hunt” charity poker tournament held at the Paradisus Resort in Playa Conchal Costa Rica. The tournament raised over $38,000 towards shark conservation efforts in Costa Rica, as well as opened the eyes of its 161 registered players to the threats that sharks face and the various ways they can help protect these magnificent animals.

Dabul, a professional poker with Team PokerStar.net, was not involved in shark conservation initiatives before the tournament. Neither were most of the players, who didn’t understand the global plight that sharks face, nor that they could somehow make a difference. This was soon to change.

The players, in town for the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) tournament, the first event of its 3rd season, were invited by Humberto “the Shark” Brenes, a Costa Rican professional poker player, to enter the charity tournament prior to the LAPT’s main event. Randall Arauz, President of Pretoma, the Costa Rican shark conservation NGO to be benefited by the charity tournament, spoke during the opening ceremony, thanked the players for their kind support, and explained where the funds go. While at the tables, the players learned about shark finning, and how some fishermen catch sharks and brutally severe their fins to fuel the billion dollar a year shark fin soup market. Because shark meat is for the most part inedible, finned sharks are thrown back into the ocean and left to die.

“The tournament was really well organized and a lot of fun”, said Dabul. “Apart from it always being special to win, I want to contribute more to this incredible cause in my own country, and I’m already thinking about how to do it.”

This year’s charity tournament featured players who donated 50 dollars to enter the tournament and included an option for them to donate more and re-enter the game if they lost. As the winner of the tournament, Dabul received an all expense paid package to Viña del Mar, Chile, the site of another LAPT event in 2011. The amount raised was then matched by Brenes and in turn matched by the LAPT’s organizer PokerStars.net.

Two years ago Brenes threw his support behind Pretoma’s mission to protect shark populations. Today, his stature as the leading shark philanthropist in the poker community is undeniable. Humberto Brenes and PokerStars.net are part of Pretoma’s corporate membership program, an initiative that brings together local businesses from different sectors in the hope that they will become more aware of the growing need to protect Costa Rica’s and ultimately the planet’s natural resources.

Hundreds of children from several schools around San José are educating their families and community members about sea turtles, and at the same time raising money through the sale of turtle stickers to support projects that protect these animals.  The children are part of the “Save the Marine Turtles” campaign sponsored by Mamá Activa – a group of mothers with children ages 0 to 12 – and the Programa Restauración de Tortugas Marinas (Pretoma).  By selling stickers that cost five hundred colones, the little protagonists learn to protect these animals, while at the same time collecting funding to be invested in sea turtle conservation projects.

Mamá Activa approached Pretoma earlier this year with the idea to collaborate in an environmental education program for children.  Members from both organizations held interactive workshops in schools, teaching children about the different types of marine turtles that nest on Costa Rica’s beaches, about the threats they face, and how the kids can help protect these animals.  Students were then given stickers with a baby turtle on them and asked to talk to friends and family members about what they had learned.  Moms and dads, neighbors, and many others then collaborated by donating five hundred colones to the program with each sticker they purchased from the children.

“We have problems with the turtles, there are bad people who steal the turtles, their eggs, and meat, and they eat it, and we should never eat it again,” said four year old Felipe Sánchez from the pre-kindergarten of the San Clare College in a YouTube Video.  “We shouldn’t build houses or hotels, not even put lights because if we do, the turtles will loose their place to go back to the ocean”, added the little conservationist. Through this video, Felipe managed to sell 100 stickers.

The educational centers were another important element in the program’s success. The West College, as well as Blue Valles and Saint Clare collaborated in very proactive ways.  “Every day children are increasingly interested in conserving and protecting the environment, and working with these schools has been a wonderful experience,” said Alexia Garro from Pretoma’s Corporate Membership Program.  “They are like sponges,” she continued, “they understood everything and have become excellent spokespeople for the turtles.”

Over six hundred children participated in the educational workshops, and they managed to sell more than a thousand stickers.  The money raised will go toward the funding of sea turtle projects managed by Pretoma.

Marine turtles are constantly threatened by the commercialization of their eggs, light pollution on their nesting beaches, by the sale of tortoiseshell products, and by commercial fisheries.  If you would like to participate in this campaign please contact Alexia Garro at her email address membresias@pretoma.org or call 2241-52-27.  For more information on Mamá Activa please visit their website at mamactiva.com.

Agropecuaria Caletas S.A. disregards precautionary measures dictated by Environmental Tribune to protect Wetlands of the Caletas Ario National Wildlife Refuge

(September 8, 2009 – San José, Costa Rica)

Agropecuaria Caletas S.A., has continued the destruction of wetlands within the Caletas Ario National Wildlife Refuge, created in 2006 to protect the olive ridley and leatherback sea turtles that nest there, in disregard of the mandates of the Environmental Tribune of the Ministry of Environment.

Destruction in the Caletas Arío National Wildlife Refuge

Last April, responding to a lawsuit filed by Pretoma against Agropecuaria Caletas S.A. for draining the wetlands of the Caletas Ario Wildlife Refuge, the Environmental Tribune ordered the farming company to halt all of its activities in and around this sensitive wetland. Last June, the Environmental Tribune ordered the company to pay $21,200 for damages caused therein (Resolución N° 390-09-TAA). The resolution came after officials observed how the company is, by design, draining, burning and thereby sucking the biological diversity out of a 150 hectare wetland that boarders Playa Caletas on the southern Nicoya Peninsula.

Video taken by Pretoma this past weekend shows how the court order and subsequent fines have done nothing to stop the company’s relentless efforts to drain and till under the wetland. “As a Costa Rican, it is quite upsetting to see Agropecuaria Caletas S.A.’s total disrespect of our Courts”, said Randall Arauz, President of Pretoma. “The foreign owner of Agropecuaria Caletas S.A. has not only ignored the fine, but he is openly challenging the Environmental Tribune’s authority, by continuing the destruction of the wetland without any apparent fear of legal reprisals”.

Wildlife congregating around the wetland

In July of 2008, Pretoma filed a lawsuit against Agropecuaria Caletas S.A. and its president Silvester Feichtinger in 2008 at the Environmental Tribunal, because the company´s agricultural development efforts had increased with it zeroing in on butchering the wetland until it can be converted into a corn field.

In August 2008, the company responded by setting fires to better clear the area´s wetland. The flames quickly spread to within one meter of Pretoma’s sea turtle conservation camp, putting at risk its 6 volunteers and sea turtle hatchery that protect 130 nests and estimated potential 10,000 turtle hatchlings.

The evidence: a tractor

The wetland is seasonal and maintains an aquatic habitat during Costa Rica’s rainy season (May – November). Unfortunately, the draining activities performed by Agropecuaria Caletas S.A. have caused the wetland to dry up earlier in the season. According to the Environmental Ministry (MINAET) and the Tempisque Conservation Area (ACT), the wetland hosts a unique biodiversity to be a nucleus of enormous importance for the conservation and management of the area’s natural resources.

watch?v=R8z0JBjjNGM

Sea Turtle Satellite Tagging Expedition at Cocos Island, Costa Rica Swims Into Action:
Seeks Information Needed to Guide Creation of High Seas Marine Protected Areas for Endangered Marine Species

(San José, Costa Rica – Sept 1, 2009)
A 10-day sea turtle tagging research expedition to Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica successfully outfitted three green turtles and one hawksbill turtle with satellite transmitters in order to follow their movements, as part of a long-term research project to understand the importance of Cocos Island for highly pelagic species that migrate throughout the Pacific.  Two other green turtles had been previously tagged last March.  The aim of the study is to document migration patterns of east Pacific endangered marine species in order to establish protected migration corridors for these species.

Green turtle to be tagged

Each time one of the four sea turtles surfaces for air, the high-tech satellite transmitter, glued to its shell with epoxy, sends a signal to a series of satellites circling the Earth, which determines the turtle location and the water temperature, and sends the information directly to researchers computers.

“The information we are collecting is necessary if we are to protect these amazing species as they migrate thousands of miles across the Pacific, where they encounter industrial fishing operations, which catch and kills thousands of turtles every year,” said Randall Arauz, President of the Costa Rican NGO, and co-leader of the trip.

In total, 26 sea turtles were also marked given permanent flipper ID tags and nine turtles received acoustic tags, which are recorded by underwater receivers placed around Cocos Island, as well as other sites in the Pacific, including the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, and Malpelo Island, Colombia.

“If we don’t better manage industrial fisheries to avoid interactions with the ancient sea turtles that out-survived the dinosaurs, we will lose some species in the very near future,” warned Todd Steiner, a biologist and executive director of the US-based Turtle Island Restoration Network, and co-leader of the trip with Arauz.  “The best way to do this is to understand turtle migrations and reduce fishing effort, especially in migration hot-spots.”

Attaching the satellite transmitter

In addition to tagging sea turtles, a total of 6 more scalloped hammerhead sharks were equipped with acoustical tags on this trip, for a total of 60 since the project initiated in 2005.  Previous tagged hammerheads indicate the sharks move back and forth between Cocos, Galapagos, and Malpelo Islands.  Furthermore, a new permit was issued to PRETOMA for the collection of tissue samples to set up a marine shark and turtle “gene bank”, for genetic analysis, and samples from 20 turtles and 18 white-tip sharks, were collected that will be made available to researchers.

According to Arauz, the information generated so far is proving that Cocos Island is an important feeding, resting, and nursery location for many pelagic species of sharks and turtles.  “To protect this international gem, Costa Rica must enact larger no-fishing zones around the island and increase enforcement activities,” said Arauz.

Participants included biologists and research assistants from Costa Rica, US, Colombia, Australia, and Bellarus, and the expedition used the excellent support services and accommodations of the Costa Rican-based UnderSea Hunter live-aboard dive company.

For more pictures of the turtle/shark tagging expedition, click here

The expedition was supported by the Whitley Fund for Nature, the BBC Wildlife Fund, and Pretoma’s Corporate Membership.

Releasing the turtle

For more information, contact:

Randall Arauz, PRETOMA, Costa Rica.  (506) 2241 5227, rarauz@pretoma.org; info@pretoma.org
Todd Steiner, Turtle Island Restoration Network, 415-663-8590 X103, tsteiner@tirn.net

Pretoma is a Costa Rican Civil Association of Public Interest and is an active member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN and the World Society for the Protection of Animals WSPA. For more information visit www.pretoma.org

Turtle Island Restoration Network is an international marine conservation organization headquartered in California, which works to protect sea turtles and marine biodiversity around the world. For more information, visit www.SeaTurtles.org

(San José, Costa Rica – 12 de junio, 2009).
A study by the University of Costa Rica’s (UCR) Center for Marine Research (CIMAR) supporting the operation of tuna farms in Costa Rica’s south Pacific, was the reason why the Ministry of Environment and Telecommunications (MINAET) once again approved the project, according to the Minister himself, Jorge Rodríguez.

Rodríguez gave his statement during a Press Conference in Costa Rica’s Congress last June 11, which was called to announce that the country had cancelled its debt with the International Whale Commission, and was now better suited to lead global processes to protect these species.  When asked if the operation of tuna farms could threaten populations of whales and dolphins that live and breed in Costa Rican waters, the Minister expressed his concern, but justified MINAET´s decision on CIMAR’s study.

Video of Minister Rodríguez

“We have read CIMAR´s study on tuna farms thoroughly, and no matter how hard we try, we can’t find anywhere that it approves the tuna farms”, said a doubtful Randall Arauz, President of the Costa Rican organization PRETOMA.  “Actually, CIMAR’s study indicates that a previous long term exhaustive study must be held regarding the currents and effects that the generation of tons of metabolic wastes could have on the delicate ecosystem of the Golfo Dulce”.

CIMAR report on Tuna Farms

In March of 2007, the Constitutional Court had suspended the execution of the Tuna Farm project, due to the uncertainties surrounding the destiny of the metabolic wastes and the possible effect on the Golfo Dulce.  Furthermore, the Court ordered that the suspension could not be lifted, until scientific studies were held that cleared the doubt.

“Up to this day, no studies exist regarding the currents, thus the mandate of the Constitutional Court has not been abided by”, said Andy Bystrom, Director of Communications of PRETOMA.  “It is very important that CIMAR publicly state its position, the future of the Golfo Dulce depends on it”.

For more information:
Pretoma
info@pretoma.org
Tel (506) 2241 5227

Pretoma is a Costa Rican Civil Association of Public Interest, and is an active member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

(San José, Costa Rica -  May 28, 2009)- The Costa Rican organization Pretoma delivered a letter today to President Oscar Arias which was signed by 704 citizens who participated in Costa Rica’s first national rally to halt tuna farming on May 23-24 in Pavones, Puntarenas.  The letter calls on the President to revoke the Ministry of Environment’s (Minaet) decision to go ahead with the tuna farm project, which had been suspended since May of 2007 by order of the Constitutional Court. According to the letter, the Ministry of the Environment is not abiding by the court ruling that suspended the execution of tuna farms until technical certainty exists that can confirm that the Golfo Dulce, a tropical fjord, would not be affected by the massive amounts of metabolic wastes produced by the tuna.

Local residents line-up to sign a petition against tuna farming

The two day event was staged in a remote area of the country (an 8 hour drive from San José), but the region’s aloofness did little to deter people from supporting the movement to stop tuna farming.  Artisanal fishermen, tourism operators, children, tourists, Guaymi indigenous citizens, and others came together to voice their concerns over the unbridled exploitation of the area’s natural resources.

“What a phenomenal event”, said Jonnie Haas, Pavones resident and event organizer, “the thing I remember most is the children all gathered around the table to carefully sign the petition and watch the tuna farming video”.  He went on to mention that this event is only the beginning of the community’s grass roots movement to stop the tuna farms.

The area’s two unequivocal economic strengths are fishing and tourism, both fed by the natural beauty and bounty of the Golfo Dulce and its surrounding verdant hillsides.  Coincidently, both are threatened by burgeoning concerns regarding Minaet’s decision to approve an international project to unsustainably strip the area of its natural resources, solely for the harvesting of tuna.  The project is slated to have a life span of 8 years, during which time the company, Granjas Atuneras de Golfito S.A., plans to earn 20 million dollars per year, only to skip town when natural tuna stocks become depleted and pollution concerns pose a risk to profits.

Perhaps the greatest part of the weekend was how people from all walks of like came together for a common cause. Guaymi, one of Costa Rica’s indigenous Indian, walked for hours just to voice their support, and they did so shoulder to shoulder with local fishermen and sun burned surfers.

“I can’t believe this” mentioned one anonymous local observing the spectacle of children’s games, rubber boot races, and traditional dances, “you just don’t see things like this in Pavones”. And if the public gets their way, you won’t see tuna farms either.