By Wendy Anders

A surfer is taking legal action to attempt to change the way the Costa Rican government manages the country’s fierce crocodiles which during certain times of the year enter estuaries and coastal waters from swollen river mouths, reported GrindTV, the adventure and outdoor lifestyle station, Saturday.

Last week crocodiles showed up at the World Surf League’s Qualifying Series event held at Esterillos two of the five days of competition forcing the event to be delayed, reported local media

The director of the group that organized the Esterrillos Essential Costa Rica Open last week, Walter Brenes, a surfer, plans to sue the current Costa Rican administration for failing to manage the crocodile population and thus negatively affected the country’s tourism and surf image, said GrindTV.

“I will be suing the government for negligence on behalf of the Chamber of Tourism,” Brenes told GrindTV over the phone. “The attacks have tourists scared to come here. In Tamarindo, in the North Pacific, we lost like seven percent of visitors because of the crocodile attack three months ago.”

In July, Arthur ‘Jon’ Becker, an American surfer, lost his right foot in a crocodile attack at the popular Pacific Costa Rican surf beach of Tamarindo, making international news for days

“We’re looking for the government to do what’s best for us surfers and the people from other countries that come here,” said Brenes. “The government right now is doing nothing to control the crocodile population; they don’t even know what the population is.”

The country’s American crocodile is considered “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Brenes says that in many parts of Costa Rica they are overpopulated, “We’ve seen a big growth in population recently,” said Brenes to GrindTV. “We need to reduce the population.”

Given his career as a successful environmental lawyer, Brenes believes he can be successful in forcing the government to do just that, said GrindTV.

“We are looking at solutions now. First, we need to know the real numbers,” said Brenes. “Then, the next step will be the relocation of crocodiles, and possible killing of more aggressive ones. I’m 100 percent sure we can be successful, because people down here know it’s a real problem.”

And he’s not alone in his assessment that there are too many crocodiles.

Brenes said that while the country relies heavily on eco-tourism for industry, its government has no grasp on the crocodile population, and is effectively ignoring a very real problem, reported GrindTV.