PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOuRTH INTERNaTIONal FISHERS FORum

[ 6.1. ]
Opening Addresses
6.1.1. Dr. Carlos Villalobos Solé
Executive President, INCOPESCA
(Translated from Spanish)
Good Morning,
At the beginning of the International Fishers Forum,
as president of the Instituto Costarricense de Pesca y
Acuicultura (INCOPESCA), I have the pleasure of giving
you the warmest welcome to the beautiful city of Puntarenas,
a friendly land and with great beauty and natural treasures.
Here with me are Dr. Rodolfo Salazar, President of the
National Fishers Chamber in Costa Rica; Mr. Sean Martin,
President of the Longline Association in Hawaii; Mr. James
Leape, General Director for the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF); Ms. Kitty M. Simonds, Executive Director of the
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council; and
Mr. Javier Flores, Production Minister.
The Instituto Costarricense de Pesca y Acuicultura is
pleased this morning to also have the presence of high
government officials, friends involved in the fishing arena,
representatives for international organizations as well as for
non-governmental organizations, fisheries, fishermen, the
business sector, the world science community, and diplomats
in Costa Rica.
To our friends and distinguished guests who come from
Argentina, Australia, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, United States of
America, Philippines, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia,
Guam, Solomon Islands, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Norway, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Tonga,
United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic,
Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago,
and Uruguay, I want you to feel at home, and our best
wishes for a happy stay.
Today we gather for the end of a process that started at the
beginning of this year when we were invited to host the
Fourth International Fishers Forum. It has been a great
honor for Costa Rica and for the Instituto Costarricense de
Pesca y Acuicultura.
This event has allowed us to gather a select group of
scientists from different parts of the world, leading fishermen,
fish administrators, vice ministers, non-governmental
organizations and/or directors and representatives for
international organizations committed to the development
of fishing.
Being in Costa Rica today is also the result of what
cooperation and integration among countries can do, when
there is a will to unite the interests for conservation and the
sustainable development of fish resources of great value,
with the support of science research and advance technology.
The fast evolution of the longline fleets in different oceans,
the state of the biggest commercial populations such as
sharks, tuna and bill fish, and the need to increase the
efforts to reduce the impact on non-target species such as
turtles, sea birds and dolphins, offer us a historic chance to
raise awareness of the urgent need to adopt conservation
measures, regulate the resources, have lead countries adopt
the Code of Responsible Fishing from the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization, and guarantee the
sustainability of the resources.
For Latin American countries, it is also a unique opportunity,
when you consider that for several of them, my country
included, longline fishing represents the final frontier for the
artisanal fishermen.
I don’t want to conclude without expressing our sincere
thank you to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery
Management Council, in the name of Kitty Simonds and
all of her hard working staff; to Pacific Rim Concepts in
the name of Lee-Ann Choy and Jon Ordenstein; and to the
World Wide Fund for Nature-Central America and Avina
Foundation; as well as our friends Martin Hall and Eric
Gilman, for the valuable support and for the advice that they
have given us for several months to make this event possible.
Opening Addresses
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