Each fish caught generates $930 U.S. dollars of revenue.
The assigning of jobs along with the remuneration that Costa Rica receives thanks to sport fishing tourism arc threatened by the operation of large ships that operate without further controls on the Pacific Coast.
In this area, industrial boats often operate with little supervision depicting flags of different countries such as Taiwan or China and they throw large-nets into the sea, a technique that eliminates a lot of species. The operation of such ships equipped with this type of trawl nets seriously affects the development of activities such as sport fishing which generates a large amount of jobs in the Pacific coast of Guanacaste.
According to Hubert Gysemans, Honorary President of the Guanacastecan Chamber of Tourism (CATURGUA), currently there are about seven thousand people linked to recreational fishing activities such as visitors, guides, rental boats, transport, and accommodation services, amongst others.
These kinds of practices perpetrated by large Ships that use huge nets are responsible for killing large numbers of marine species because they capture everything in its way. These actions infringe on the reproduction of fish such as the sailfish and marlin, "said the representative of CAFURGUA.
The diversity of marine life in the coasts of Costa Rica has attracted visitors that are fishing enthusiasts,who collie from coun trieslike the United States, Europe and even Japan. The Honorary President of CATURGUA revealed that the capture of each fish generates revenue of S 930 U.S. dollars with tourists staying in the country between four and eight days on average.
In addition, the founder of the Chamber stressed that visitors who come to Costa Rica in search of recreational fishing. spend 80 percent of their time of the stay only in activities related to that type of sport activity. The income of each yacht dedicated to the spoil fishing activity generates to employers in the tourism sector figures of between S 700 and S 1500.
In this field, our country has to face competition with Mexico and Guatemala where this type of fishing industry has been flourishing, for that reason, we must take urgent measures in the matter," said the spokesman of CATURGUA. According to Gysemans, Costa Rica may choose next year to become the headquarters of the World Fishing Championship.
Warning
Sport fishing is characterized by a reduced environmental impact, amongst other benefits, because of its low levels of catches and the return of caught fish to the sea. The captain of the boat '4 Mori', 'Pit Arcieri' estimates that in the past six years, both the size and the number of species have been reduced by the industrialized operation of large ships amongst other reasons.
A situation of this kind alienates potential customers who might come to Costa Rica. In Cancun and Baja California and Mexico, there are good conditions for sport fishing, so if tourists come here and the activity is less productive they are simply going elsewhere with the subsequent economic damage to areas such as Coco Beach, Flamingo, Tamarindo, Puntarenas and Golfito, said Arcieri, who often works in the Bay of Playa Tamarindo.
The website of the Organization of the United Nations of Food and Agriculture (www.fao.org) indicates that "in recent years Costa Rica has gained an international reputation as a tourist destination for recreational fishing, having been estimated to have generated approximately S 32 million dollars just in 2002.
In the Pacific there has been a development in the sport fishing business whose bases of operation for the boats arc in Flamingo, Guanacaste and on the outside of the Gulf of Nicoya, as well as in Quepos and Golfito.
Operating in this fishery are about 98 boats with lengths of up to 15 meters, according to the website of FAO based on information from the Department of Fisheries and Aqua-culture of that organization.
The Pacific Coast of Costa Rica has a length of 1,016 kilometers with numerous bays, three gulfs, and a large amount of mangroves that serve as breeding sites for the development of marine species.
Activities and Sports 
