Complainants filed an appeal to the Sala IV Constitutional Court to stop shrimp trawling off the coast of Costa Rica until INCOPESCA (el Instituto Costaricense de Pesca y Acuicultura) certifies that the activity is sustainable.
The complaint is that trawling catches other types of marine creatures as well as shrimp and that these others are released back into the sea, often times not alive.
They say that for every kilo of shrimp caught 7.5 kilos of other species are discarded from the nets. Other species include: Turtles, snapper, sea bass, lobsters, groupers, eels and even coral- removing sediment and altering the structure and balance of the ecosystems that compromise their ability to regenerate.
The group claims that INCOPESCA illegally licenses the trawlers because they are not required to file environmental impact reports on their activities. They also claim that licensing the trawlers violates international treaties.
