Good Morning Zueika and Nikolas,
Thank you for the information that you presented at this meeting on Tuesday night April ,16th at the Balboa Yacht Club. It seems you have prepared a detailed plan for the future of the marine environment here in the Coiba National park. As I stated our Foundation, The Panama Marine Resource Foundation (PMRF) , was formed just a year ago. We have made great progress here in Chiriqui and are now expanding throughout all of Panama. As I said at the meeting, over 180,000 fishermen and woman came to Panama last year alone to fish and they came from all over the world with the express purpose of fishing. This fact brought in tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the economy of Panama. Hotels, airlines, restaurants, fuel stations and many allied business all benefit from this source of income.
Our foundation is comprised of international sport fishing enthusiasts, local business leaders, commercial fishing interests and local sustenance fishers. We have 80% of all the fishing lodges now operating in Panama as members, plus sporting good dealers and marinas all of whom are actively involved in the foundation.
When we first formed the foundation in August of 2012 the group set up rules and recommendation to self-govern our members. The Panama Marine Resource Foundation members have reported that they have seen a marked decline in our fishery due to over fishing, by not just the commercial fleets but also a very small percentage from within our own industry. PMRF is aggressively addressing that problem at this time. We are a proactive foundation and we are taking action now. Although the sport fish catch is miniscule, we have set rules to limit any retention of game fish such as Blue Marlin, Black Marlin, stripped Marlin, Sail fish, Rooster fish and Cubera snapper. All of the fish listed are now hook and release only species. We have also set a two fish retention limit on all other species per angler. We are working on an international tagging program with agencies that support hook and release fishing worldwide. We are doing something to keep this fishery sustainable or as they say, “we practice what we preach”!
I understand you position in some areas and realize that a regulated commercial fishery in needed. We do need to set up certain commercial seasons, size and species regulations. We also need collective fish catch information and we need to regulate certain types of commercial fishing gear. A gill net or purse seine kills everything - turtles, dolphins and protected fish. The problem is there is no enforcement by the authorities on existing laws and little if any patrolling of the waters in Panama. The Panama Marine Resource Foundation members through our fishing lodge members fleets are on the water daily. We have members from across the border in Costa Rica, Boca Chica, Boca Brave, Islas Secas, Islas Paridas and Cebaco Island. All lodges have boats fishing daily and equipped with long range V.H.F. radio's capable of reporting any illegal fishing.
I would like to begin a partnership with Mar-Viva so we may work together for a responsible approach to the problems faced here in Panama. I can be reached by phone at 507-6813-3631 or by this e-mail address and look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely, John Maynard, President, The Panama Marine Resource Foundation.
It was a pleasure meeting you and your staff at Mar-Viva's meeting.
Thank you for the information that you presented at this meeting on Tuesday night April ,16th at the Balboa Yacht Club. It seems you have prepared a detailed plan for the future of the marine environment here in the Coiba National park. As I stated our Foundation, The Panama Marine Resource Foundation (PMRF) , was formed just a year ago. We have made great progress here in Chiriqui and are now expanding throughout all of Panama. As I said at the meeting, over 180,000 fishermen and woman came to Panama last year alone to fish and they came from all over the world with the express purpose of fishing. This fact brought in tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the economy of Panama. Hotels, airlines, restaurants, fuel stations and many allied business all benefit from this source of income.
Our foundation is comprised of international sport fishing enthusiasts, local business leaders, commercial fishing interests and local sustenance fishers. We have 80% of all the fishing lodges now operating in Panama as members, plus sporting good dealers and marinas all of whom are actively involved in the foundation.
When we first formed the foundation in August of 2012 the group set up rules and recommendation to self-govern our members. The Panama Marine Resource Foundation members have reported that they have seen a marked decline in our fishery due to over fishing, by not just the commercial fleets but also a very small percentage from within our own industry. PMRF is aggressively addressing that problem at this time. We are a proactive foundation and we are taking action now. Although the sport fish catch is miniscule, we have set rules to limit any retention of game fish such as Blue Marlin, Black Marlin, stripped Marlin, Sail fish, Rooster fish and Cubera snapper. All of the fish listed are now hook and release only species. We have also set a two fish retention limit on all other species per angler. We are working on an international tagging program with agencies that support hook and release fishing worldwide. We are doing something to keep this fishery sustainable or as they say, “we practice what we preach”!
I understand you position in some areas and realize that a regulated commercial fishery in needed. We do need to set up certain commercial seasons, size and species regulations. We also need collective fish catch information and we need to regulate certain types of commercial fishing gear. A gill net or purse seine kills everything - turtles, dolphins and protected fish. The problem is there is no enforcement by the authorities on existing laws and little if any patrolling of the waters in Panama. The Panama Marine Resource Foundation members through our fishing lodge members fleets are on the water daily. We have members from across the border in Costa Rica, Boca Chica, Boca Brave, Islas Secas, Islas Paridas and Cebaco Island. All lodges have boats fishing daily and equipped with long range V.H.F. radio's capable of reporting any illegal fishing.
I would like to begin a partnership with Mar-Viva so we may work together for a responsible approach to the problems faced here in Panama. I can be reached by phone at 507-6813-3631 or by this e-mail address and look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely, John Maynard, President, The Panama Marine Resource Foundation.
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