Coiba exclusion zone back to life

PANAMA. President Martin Torrijos and his Cabinet formally reinstated the exclusion zone for the fishing of tuna with seines near the National Park of Coiba.

The provisional measure re-establishes article 11 of Law No. 44 (the Law of Coiba) of July 2004 which was eliminated due to negligence in mid-2008. The National Assembly cut the article by mistake through a law on maritime commerce. According to the official gazette, the government has now created an exclusion zone in the Pacific where the use of seines is prohibited because such gear harm the area’s marine species.

Jessica Young, from the MarViva Foundation, applauds the provisional measure as it helps preserve marine resources, yet hopes the National Assembly takes a step further, re-establishing the measure as a law.

40 national and international environmental and conservationist groups denounced the elimination of article 11 earlier this year, sending a letter to Torrijos demanding that he get involved in the matter through an executive decree bringing back the protective measure.

The environmental groups warned in the letter that without the restitution of the measure, marine species in the area such as tuna, sharks, dolphins, turtles and others would continue to be in danger.