In March 2009, a ban on commercial fishing with encircling purse seine nets was reinstated in Panama’s Coiba National Park, thanks to advocacy by AIDA and a coalition of international organizations.
The 1,040-square-mile park was declared a Marine Protected Area in 2004 because of its rich marine life, including vegetation and coral reefs unique to the Panamanian Pacific. It is also a nesting site for at least three kinds of endangered sea turtles. In recognition of its great value, Unesco declared Coiba National Park a World Natural Heritage Site in 2005.
However, Panama’s National Assembly opened the protected area to commercial tuna fishing with encircling nets in 2008. These nets would likely have harmed a variety of sensitive marine species that seek refuge there, including dolphins, billfish, whales, and sea turtles—which would have been killed as bycatch.
A coalition of Panamanian and international organizations including AIDA drew public and government attention to the potential harms of the fishery. In response to this pressure, the National Assembly reinstated a legal prohibition on using encircling nets, an important triumph for conservation of the park.
