Action Report:

A recent article in the August issue of Rodale's Scuba Diving, pages 44-49, brought to light the extent of illegal fishing taking place in the protected waters around Cocos Island of the coast of Costa Rica. It talks about "Black October", during which rangers watched helplessly from shore as fishermen pulled thousands of sharks from the water, sliced their fins off, and then tossed the living animals back into the sea to die on the ocean floor. It was estimated that at least 20 fishing boats were in the reserve every day, with an estimate of 6,000 sharks being killed during the month of October 2001. The island and its surrounding reefs are a national park and a U.N. World Heritage Site, enclosed within a 12-mile no-take marine preserve. Protection seems only to exist on paper.

SRI urges you to write the Costa Rican president and environment minister, and the Costa Rican ambassador to the U.S.

Presidente de la Republica de Costa Rica
Dr. Abel Pacheco de la Espriella
Apdo. 520-2010, Zapote
San Jose, Costa Rica
Fax: (011) 506-253-9078
E-mail: presidente@casapres.go.cr

Ministra de Ambiente y Energia
Mr. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez
Apdo. 10104-1000
San Jose, Costa Rica

Ambassador of Costa Rica
Dr. Jaime Daremblum Rosenstein
2114 S. Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
USA

SRI is research the possibility of being shark research at Cocos Island for 2003. We will keep you posted.