The Coast Guard has referred 20 people to the Prosecutor’s Office for illegal fishing. Additionally, they seized 15 boats from the Gulf of Nicoya which is off limits to fishermen every October.
The fishing ban is meant to give the species a chance to repopulate. That will make for a better year for the 15,000 families that depend on fishing in the area. They are given subsidies from IMAS for the month they are unable to work.
Still, many try to get away with the restricted activity. When fishing organizations or people interested in the gulf recovering see them, they call the Coast Guard to report the poachers.
On Sunday, the Coast Guard went to stop a boat and it fled away even throwing objects at the officials and screaming death threats at them. The boat overturned and another fishermen’s boat came to help them escape. They were brought to the Prosecutor’s Office for illegal fishing and attacks against the officers.
