The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – 85% of Costa Rica´s tuna fish is exported and each ton is $6,000 on the international market
True, Costa Rica is a small country, but its seas are immense and rich in marine life. Actually, foreign fleets and landing stages have been taking particular advantage of Costa Rica´s tuna fish.
Between 2002 and 2011, 259.180 tons of tuna were caught in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Costa Rica. Interestingly, 85% of that tuna was unloaded in seven countries. Ecuador was the main recipient, with 51% of the landings, while Costa Rica unloaded only 15%.
In the international market, every ton of processed tuna as canned product costs $2,800 (¢ 1,411,200), and if that ton is sold as fresh product it can cost between $ 6,000 and $ 10,000 (between ¢ 3,024. 000 and ¢ 5,040,000), according to an analysis by the biologists David Cubero and Priscilla Martinez for the Costa Rican Fisheries Federation (Fecop).
Also, according to data from MAG, fishing ships from six countries-most of them with Panamanian and Venezuelan flags-operated in Costa Rican waters between 2008 and 2011.
This situation has prevailed for 40 years and it’s due to the national legislation of the country and the fact that the local processing plants do not have the capacity to absorb the volume of raw material that these foreign vessels catch in our waters.
In this sense, the manager of INCOPESCA claims that the country needs reorganization and new laws to monitor the fishing activity, which must be done through the Legislative Assembly. LN
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose, Costa Rica
