SIGN UP FOR OUR By Wendy Anders
The 400 ms of illegal fishing nets seized in the Gulf of Nicoya this week by Coast Guard patrols, photo Public Security Ministry.
Officials from the National Coast Guard Service seized illegal trawling nets that unidentified fishermen were using in the Gulf of Nicoya, said the Costa Rican Public Security Ministry in a press statement yesterday.
The trawling nets were located by Coast Guard patrol boats northwest of Bejuco Island in the Pacific Nicoya Gulf off Puntarenas, Costa Rica, continued the report.
The more than 400 meters of nets seized did not allow for protection or escape of small or endangered species, and thus were not in compliance with Costa Rican fishing regulations, said police reports.
This is the typical illegal trawling technique used; it completely traps all animals with its height of 100 loops, not the 50 loops established by law, and is anchored to the bottom with large, heavy rocks.
In this capture, the large extension of illegal netting was anchored in such a way to cover the largest area possible, causing potentially great damage to the ecosystem, said police sources.
The netting will be destroyed at the National Coast Guard Service station in Caldera, Puntarenas, police reported.
