PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOuRTH INTERNaTIONal FISHERS FORum

and hopes that the State, the international community, the
universities, the non-governmental organizations and the
scientific, academic and political communities will develop
alliances that minimize conflict between participants and
lead to sustainability.
Those organizations and individuals who profess
collaboration but whose actions continue to cause conflict
are far from being peace makers. We often see the emergence
of non-governmental organizations that want to maintain
conflict. The reason for this is that their modus vivendi
depends on the maintaining conflict itself and not on
solutions to the problem. Fortunately, we are pleased to
see organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, which
has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the fishing sector
in a collaborative proactive manner, joining our network
with the Costa Rican Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture
to develop sustainable fishing by the National Fishing
Sector Federation.
It is of the utmost importance that we remain focused.
We are interested in sustainability, and neither the efforts
of the fishing sector nor the efforts of the conservation
sector must hide any desire to deplete resources or to
create sanctuaries without regard to social interests.
The Fourth International Fishers Forum was convened
to provide continuity for the important topics discussed
in the three previous meetings. Those were focused on
incidental bycatch in longline fishing. Up to now, the focus
of the International Fishers Forum series has been turtles
and seabirds taken incidentally by longline fishing. Today,
we are faced with two additional challenges as we seek to
incorporate sharks and cetaceans into discussions in order to
mitigate incidental bycatch. Longlining, as a fishing practice,
is notable for having a multi-species catch with the objective
of full catch utilization. The challenges facing this Forum
are without a doubt serious, profound and interesting. We
must increasingly deal with the issue of incidental bycatch,
and any adopted measures must be both effective and also
have minimal social and economic impacts on the fishing
population. This focus on bycatch and fishing opportunities
is good departure point for discussion for sustainability and
efforts must be made to establish rules for fisheries reporting
so that every single one of the targeted species is recorded
We believe that the recording of species and management
of the fisheries are the starting points to determine the
impact of longline fishing on shark and cetaceans. In
countries such as Costa Rica sharks catch rates are high since
they are considered protein and the whole carcass is retained
and used. Consequently, we are faced with regulating the
resource. This in turn leads to studies on these species and
consideration of their highly migratory nature (as is also the
case with other longline species). This in turn means that
we must consider mechanisms that extend beyond the
exclusive economic zone boundaries of each state. Instead,
we must deal with the reality of species ranges and the
interaction between fisheries and species, which requires
regional solutions. On this particular matter, there is no
disagreement between the scientific community, the fishing
sector and government.
Rather, the challenge lies in the effectiveness of regional
measures, based on compromises between states that
must be consistent with the goal of regulation. Also, the
regulations must guarantee effective participation by the
fishing sector so that it can honor its obligations, bearing in
mind the integral relationship among fishermen, the sea and
the fisheries resources. I do not wish to try the patience of
this distinguished audience. I have only wanted to give you
a warm welcome and greeting to demonstrate our sincere
pleasure to have you here in Costa Rica, and to express the
interest of the Costa Rican fishing sector to participate with
you in the making of global, regional and local strategies for
handling and regulating fishing resources. We are certain
that this Forum will be successful in every sense of the word,
and, that we will emerge from it with fresh challenges and
solutions. This is why we are confident that the bonds of
friendship, work and coordination will allow us to broaden
the alliances that guarantee us a leading role in the struggle
to defend sustainability for the benefit of the international
fishing community, and the quality of life for future
generations. Thank you very much.
6.1.4. Mr. Javier Flores
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
(Translated from Spanish)
Good Morning,
A warm greeting first this morning to those who are with
me in the Board of Directors, Dr. Rodolfo Salazar, president
of the fishers association in Costa Rica, Mr. Sean Martin,
president of the Hawaii Longline Association, Mr. James
Leape, General Director of the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF), Ms. Kitty Simonds, Executive Director of The
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council,
and Dr. Carlos Villalobos Solé, Executive President of
INCOPESCA.
The agriculture and livestock entity of the Institute
Costarricense de Pesca y Acuicultura is very pleased to
participate in the opening of the Fourth International
Fishers Forum.
I give my warmest welcome to all of the distinguished guests
who come from the different regions and who are visiting us
for this significant international event.
Opening Addresses
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