Cocos Island longline tangle. Photo by George Duffield 2007

The goal is to extend protections from commercial fishing around Cocos Island from 12 miles to 40 miles. There will be no fishing from 0 to 12 miles, but from 12 to 40 miles NO tuna purse seiners will be allowed, only local longliners, with restrictions. Recently, illegal tuna fishing vessels were caught with 12 tons of catch within the protected area -- tuna that could be considered "dolphin safe." See the article.

A group of conservation-minded divers joined STRP's Randall Arauz and Todd Steiner on a shark-tagging and diving expedition just before the violation. The group is calling on Costa Rica's president to stop illegal longline fishing in the Cocos Islands. View the letter below.

Photos by George Duffield