Almost every day I had the chance to talk a little with our landlord, Sean McGonagle, from Riviera Villas. Always with a smile and a nice word, soon I started to realize that besides a soul surfer he is also a electrician, a builder, a gardener and everything the place needs, always working in a deep connection with the local community, he is also part; a great host and respectable man.

Our conversations were diverse, around and about different topics, and from those exchanges I could perceive how much rooted he is into the environment down here in Pavones.
One of the topics I got really interest was the Granjas Atuneras, or Tuna Aquaculture…

Granjas Atuneras means “a nightmare at your doorstep!” (as Sean putted it), and in this case it a true outlandish scenario at his doorstep, the Golfo Dulce.

There is a huge project awaiting the final approval from the Costa Rica’s Environmental Ministry to install up to 80 aquaculture cages in the Golfo Dulce.

Rapid development and expansion of intensive aquaculture for species such as salmon and shrimp has, for example, resulted in widespread degradation of the environment and the displacement of coastal fishing and farming communities.
Unsustainable aquaculture also negatively impacts on the food supplies and food security of developing coastal countries. Aquaculture development often blocks access to common lands, used by local people for fishing and cleaning (collecting of seafood from the ground), and takes away traditional food sources, for use in fishmeal and oil production for aquaculture production.

The endeavor if carried out would not offer any substantial economic outcome for the rural communities that surround the Golfo Dulce.  But the case is not confined only to economical opportunities to the local population; the project poses huge problems to the region, namely:
1) Threatens to fragment the gulf’s delicate ecosystem, affecting local fisheries and sustainable tourism opportunities;
2) This project is based on the unsustainable production of species for high-value export markets (Japan in this case) with little concern for local needs.
3) The tuna aquaculture cages would attract big predators to the area, such as sharks that would potentially start to attack surfers at Pavones, a world known wave attracting surfers from every corner of the world, and other nearly areas like Punta Banco (the closest surf beach to the aquaculture project site);
4) Cause distress to turtles and possibly make them avoid to nest in the area;
5) The current flowing from where the tuna cages will be placed to the inside of Golfo Dulce would drag with them all the waste from the tuna farming facilities posing a huge threat to the local humpback whale population breeding in the area
The government says that actually this current is not flowing into the gulf, but some markers have been place on the site where the project is supposed to be placed and after 2 days or so they were tracked and collected inside the gulf.
6) This same waste would spread towards the surrounding pristine beaches and national parks like Piedras Blancas.

Besides all these factors surveys and the general feeling of the local population show an overwhelming anti-tuna farm sentiment; however, with few expendable resources to allocate to derailing the project, more powerful political and economical intentions are driving the proposal closer to implementation.

Aquaculture itself is not sustainable having many dreadful consequences to the environment.  It is a manmade response to a manmade problem, the decline of wild stocks of fish; and a way to meet the demand for some species that are becoming “harder” to catch in the wild because there aren’t much left in the wild, lead to aquaculture projects spreading around the globe to supply the market. Shrimp, salmon, tuna, tilapia and other marine finfish are now farmed!

But this is no solution to overfishing!

To get a kilo of farmed fish it is required 4 times more of wild fishes, process them into fish food (wait but those are normally already food themselves!), and then feed the fish farms, not sustainable at all, a industry with little room to grow, in a world of already depleted fish stocks.

This associated with other problems such as:
- the extraction of marine species from oceans, including wild juveniles vital for future stock growth, increasing the burden on wild fish stocks and having major food security implications;
- the extraction of marine species from oceans, including wild juveniles vital for future stock growth, increasing the burden on wild fish stocks and having as referred already major food security implications;
- fishmeal and so-called ‘trash fish’ used for feed production – often the main food for local people – taken for use in aquaculture ponds;
- the release of organic wastes (that, for instance, act as plant nutrients for harmful algal blooms) and toxic effluents into the oceans;
- the destruction of coastal ecosystems, displacement of coastal communities and depletion of fresh water sources to build aquaculture ponds.

However, there is still hope to save Golfo Dulce from this dark glimpse of the future.

PRETOMA a local NGO has several actions on their agenda to fight this project and hopefully bring it to hold next year (2010).

Check out their page for actions

The most decisive measure to stop this project would be a referendum in August, 2010. But for this to have binding effects 50% of the local population as to vote; I also learned from Sean that 60% of the population are indigenous Guaymí that live rather inland, with no high means of locomotion, so an awareness campaign needed to take place in order to inform them and take appropriate means of transport to allow them to vote, otherwise this would be a lost cause.

If you can help please do, visit PRETOMA’s website and arm yourself with knowledge!

—————————

Also while shooting the breeze with Sean I also learned some interesting facts, some about the environmental conservation measures taken by the Tiskita Jungle Lodge, and the reintroduction of the Scarlet Macaw. A hundred years ago, Scarlet Macaws were abundant in the lowland tropical forests of Costa Rica. Poaching for the pet trade has eliminated this species from the area around Tiskita. The re-introduction of the Scarlet Macaw began in 1999 in conjunction with Amigos de las Aves. A free-flying flock of over thirty birds has successfully been established. The birds are currently in the process of dating as they are finding their life-long partner.

—————————

Other things here are very interesting like the fact that some time ago Sean couldn’t buy any iron for construction from any supplier, and apparently all of Costa Rica had the same problem. Why? Story tells that China was building a dam so big it was buying and using up so mush iron, it was none left to reach areas like Pavones!

Well… stories from the paradise that is Pavones;
Question is: a Paradise for how long?

Visit: PRETOMA!!