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 TAKING AIM AT SHARK KILLERS
Ticos are using modern machines of war mounted with weapons of radar and GPS, firing salvos from video cameras aboard patrol boats of fiberglass and steel.  NATIONAL HERITAGE
The enemies are numerous, including armadas of fishing boats that wreak “long-line devastation”, wealthy foreign business interests, and most lethal of all, the bribed politicians who unleash broadsides of well-financed red tape that keep the “shark fin money” flowing The entire world is intensely watching, as Costa Rica’s war unfolds in a struggle to stop the plundering of its precious oceanic resources from Cocos Island. Inside this living museum, locked away inside a rainforest-covered jewel box of flora and fauna, resides such a wealth of history, remoteness and abundance of unique life forms that this cathedral of “eco-gold” is now internationally recognized as one of the most valuable places on Earth.  PIRATES AT COCOS by montague dawson UNESCO declared Cocos Island a World Heritage Site and Cocos Island has become a finalist in the The New 7 Wonders of Nature finals. Isla de Cocos was known to whalers and pirates as a land of replenishment for water and food centuries ago. Successful buccaneers buried their treasure chests in secret locations on the island for future visits but most never made it back. There have been over 300 attempts by various people and organizations, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt to find “El Dorado”, but the island of Cocos has only given up a few gold trinkets and coins during all these years. Today, the most precious treasure that the Costa Rican island retains is the sleek, toothy kind, swimming around its rocky cliffs in deep blue ocean liquid providing a living barometer of the state of our planets’ health.  FDR (5th from left) TREASURE HUNTING Cocos Island is a 2½ million year old volcanic peak that serves as a Pacific Ocean laboratory of life providing the world’s best shark habitat that modern man has ever seen, including white tipped reef sharks, 40 foot whale sharks, and one of the largest gatherings of hammerhead sharks ever recorded. On the island itself, lives a unique world of exotic plant and animal species, some of which can be found nowhere else on Earth! Cocos is recognized as one of the world’s premier diving spots because of great water visibility and the huge number of large size fish species such as dolphins (mammal), Manta rays, tuna, moray eels, sailfish, sea turtles, jacks and Marlin and many more. 5 SMILES Its unique terrestrial beauty consisting of caves, cloud covered peaks, sheer cliffs, plunging waterfalls and dense rainforest has inspired those who were fortunate enough to view it. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island after seeing Cocos Island and it is thought that Michael Crichton used Cocos as his inspiration for Jurassic Park. Jacques Cousteau, after visiting numerous times, exclaimed that it was “the most beautiful island in the world!” Costa Rica does not allow overnight stays, does not issue treasure hunting permits anymore and is generally quite a vigorous custodian of its national park island treasure. Limited tourism is provided by a small number of licensed companies. The enforcement of commercial fishing regulations inside Coco Island’s National Park’s ocean boundaries has proven to be a matter of constant vigilance. It is illegal for any boat to fish in Cocos waters, especially using long-lines where miles of baited hooks attached to monofilament fishing line are deployed, set adrift, marker buoys attached, to be retrieved later.
 SHARK FINNING This fishing practice is totally indiscriminant, hooking and ensnaring any and all fish, turtles, sharks and even birds. What has made the Cocos Island situation even more serious is the bizarre practice of shark finning, where sharks are hooked, brought on board, fins sliced off and their bodies thrown back, many still alive. The demand for shark fins is coming primarily from China where for over 600 years, shark fins (a delicacy prepared as sharkfin soup) have been consumed for their perceived health benefits. As China has grown, so has its demand for shark fins and a huge sharkfin industry has emerged in Costa Rica. Financed by an organized group of wealthy Taiwanese business interests, immensely profitable operations continue at the expense of destroying this country’s shark and entire fishing ecosystem. SHARK FINS DRYING A few years ago a specially outfitted conservation/research ship operated by the Sea Shepherd organization, headed by Captain Paul Watson, was invited by President Arias to assist in the protection of Cocos Island waters from illegal fishing. As soon as the Sea Shepherd ship arrived in Puntarenas to check in before sailing to Cocos, a Costa Rican official came on board and presented the Captain with official documents for attempted murder! This accusation resulted from the captain of an illegal Costa Rican fishing boat (who had been caught and filmed by Sea Shepherd hours before) notifying his “friends” and legal strings were pulled. To prevent imprisonment by what appeared to be a corrupt Puntarenas judicial system, Captain Watson chose to “escape” from Costa Rican waters being chased by gun-wielding national police! This example of “behind-the-scenes” political manipulation/intimidation and more footage of the Puntarenas/Taiwan connection is available in the award winning, “must see” documentary by Rob Stewart called “SharkWater”. Costa Rican citizens have now discovered these illegal, cruel and wasteful shark fishing practices are actually perpetuated by some of their own government officials.  SHARKMAN Because of the anger of citizens and action groups organizing to fight for the life of their country’s marine ecosystems, the illegal fishing operations in Costa Rica have gone into a “stealth” mode, where they continue processing large amounts of illegal shark fins, but now they are behind high walls at private docks with armed guards; therefore the war will continue on the ocean battleground. Because sharks have had such an “evil” Hollywood-inspired reputation their world wide decimation was unseen and didn’t seem to matter. Now, it does matter as we all become more aware of the important processes of nature at work maintaining the balance of our planet. What ocean scientists agree on these days is that sharks, being Apex predators (top of the food chain), are absolutely essential to the entire ocean ecosystem and to the wellbeing of mankind, itself. If fish that sharks feed on become overpopulated then the ecosystem becomes unbalanced causing a Ray Bradbury-esque “Butterfly Effect”, the worst-case-scenario being the disturbance of world-wide algae/plankton levels. Plankton happens to be one of those keys to life itself. It is the essential food building block for ocean life and is responsible for the majority of the world’s carbon dioxide/oxygenation process.  cocos blogthebest.com
The war for the well being of Costa Rica’s fisheries is still intensifying as an increasing number of citizens are exposed to the truth of big money corrupting too many fishermen and government decision makers. Isla de Cocos is a valuable ocean oasis of life that needs to be properly cared for by all Costa Ricans with the help of her international friends. A sad fact is that, unnoticed by most of the world, the shark population around the famous Galapagos Islands has already been seriously emaciated by illegal long line fishing which puts even more shark fishing pressure on Cocos, being only 447 miles away.  COCOS ISLAND
This is a war worth fighting, even if means that it has to be fought against local corrupt government officials or even powerful business interests from Taiwan. The people of Costa Rica have chosen some of their own government “eco-warriors” to do battle from within the system. These “golden bureaucrats” go to war every day, fighting the big money and the treacherous closed door dealmaking. It is because of these officials who have placed the well being of Costa Rica ahead of their own personal gain that this country is achieving international recognition as one of the most influential forces in the United Nations in the war to save marine fisheries. Because Costa Rica is so well respected “for its leadership in sustainable tourism” it was chosen in 2008 to head the United Nations World Tourism Organization. We have heard it said by some in San Jose and Puntarenas that those officials who are finding it difficult to perform their jobs in the best interest of Costa Rica may be unemployed soon. (first posted 3-31-2009)
A special thanks to Teri from Yo-Yoinparadise.blogspot.com, who alerted us to the Cocos Island situation (click link below) http://yo-yoinparadise.blogspot.com/
The following organizations are leading the battles to save Costa Rica’s and the world’s marine ecosystems: (click on them to visit their websites) *please email
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for questions. PRETOMA THE SHARK COALITION THE HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL THE SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY GREENPEACE THE SHARK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE COSTA RICA TOURIST BOARD** enjoy a great virtual tour of Cocos Island. NEW 7 WONDERS OF NATURE SAVINGSHARKS.COM OCEANCONSERVANCY IEMANYAOCEANIC "http://tcr.tynt.com/javascripts/Tracer.js?user=au1vR2f_ur3QvNacn9QLBk&s=50" |
Fishing 
Let us know when you are coming to Jaco Beach, Costa Rica and how many people will be in your fishing group. Browse through the entire fishing category, including the “Beginner’s Luck” video, to get an idea of what species are in our waters, and the different boats that are available at what price ranges. 
