protected - Blogs - Tripatini2024-03-28T09:45:34Zhttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/protectedMarine protected area sought off Costa Rica's Osa Peninsulahttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/marine-protected-area-sought-off-costa-rica-s-osa-peninsula2013-12-23T19:39:48.000Z2013-12-23T19:39:48.000ZShannon Farleyhttps://tripatini.com/members/ShannonFarley<div><p><a target="_blank" href="http://enchanting-costarica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Map-of-proposed-no-fishing-area-off-Osa-Peninsula-Costa-Rica-295x300.jpg"><img class="align-right" src="http://enchanting-costarica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Map-of-proposed-no-fishing-area-off-Osa-Peninsula-Costa-Rica-295x300.jpg?width=295" height="190" width="186" alt="Map-of-proposed-no-fishing-area-off-Osa-Peninsula-Costa-Rica-295x300.jpg?width=295" /></a> The <strong>southern Pacific Ocean</strong> off the <strong><a class="zem_slink" title="Osa Peninsula" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=8.55,-83.5&spn=1.0,1.0&q=8.55,-83.5%20(Osa%20Peninsula)&t=h" target="_blank">Osa Peninsula</a> in <a class="zem_slink" title="Costa Rica" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=9.93333333333,-84.0833333333&spn=10.0,10.0&q=9.93333333333,-84.0833333333%20(Costa%20Rica)&t=h" target="_blank">Costa Rica</a></strong> is an <strong>amazing natural wonder of marine biodiversity</strong>, home to more than 25 species of dolphins and whales, four of the world’s eight different sea turtles, along with manta rays, sailfish, marlin, tuna and sharks. The southern Pacific, and especially <strong><a class="zem_slink" title="Gulf of Dulce" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=8.58333333333,-83.2666666667&spn=0.1,0.1&q=8.58333333333,-83.2666666667%20(Gulf%20of%20Dulce)&t=h" target="_blank">Golfo Dulce</a></strong> (Sweet Gulf) on the eastern side of the Osa Peninsula, are vital breeding and reproducing areas for <a title="Costa Rica Star article on Costa Rica's sharks" href="http://news.co.cr/confirmed-sharks-return-to-costa-rica-for-breeding/30043/" target="_blank">endangered hammerhead sharks</a> and <a title="Article on Humpback Whales in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica" href="http://enchanting-costarica.com/activities/humpback-whale-watching-season-starts-in-costa-rica/" target="_blank">migrating endangered Humpback Whales</a>.</p><p style="text-align:justify;"></p><p style="text-align:justify;">All of this extraordinary marine life, however, is almost entirely unprotected<a target="_blank" href="http://enchanting-costarica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Huge-pod-of-spinner-dolphins-off-the-Osa-Peninsula-300x182.jpg"><img class="align-left" src="http://enchanting-costarica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Huge-pod-of-spinner-dolphins-off-the-Osa-Peninsula-300x182.jpg?width=300" width="300" alt="Huge-pod-of-spinner-dolphins-off-the-Osa-Peninsula-300x182.jpg?width=300" /></a>, except for small areas around a few <a title="National parks in Costa Rica's Osa Conservation Area" href="http://www.costarica-nationalparks.com/osaconservationarea.html" target="_blank">national parks</a> – the <strong>Ballena Marine National Park</strong> off the coast of Uvita, the <strong>Caño Island Biological Reserve</strong>, and off the coast of the <strong><a class="zem_slink" title="Corcovado National Park" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=8.55,-83.5833333333&spn=0.01,0.01&q=8.55,-83.5833333333%20(Corcovado%20National%20Park)&t=h" target="_blank">Corcovado National Park</a></strong>.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Activists say the <strong>waters along</strong> <strong>the entire coast of the</strong> <strong>Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, need to be protected,</strong> and have begun a campaign to create a <strong>“<a title="Proposed Multiple Use Protected Marine Area for the Osa Peninsula" href="http://www.mpaforosa.com/projects.html" target="_blank">Multiple Use Marine Protected Area</a>.”</strong> The <a title="Marine Protected Area for Osa Peninsula conservation group" href="http://www.mpaforosa.com/" target="_blank"><strong>MPA for OSA group</strong></a> (Marine Protected Area for Osa Peninsula) states that <strong>Costa Rica’s marine life is <a title="Threats to Costa Rica's marine life" href="http://www.mpaforosa.com/threats.html" target="_blank">threatened</a></strong> by commercial shrimp trawlers, long line fishing, over fishing, tuna nets, and ocean pollution.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">“<a target="_blank" href="http://enchanting-costarica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Spinner-dolphins-caught-in-a-tuna-net-off-the-Osa-Peninsula-300x199.jpg"><img class="align-right" src="http://enchanting-costarica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Spinner-dolphins-caught-in-a-tuna-net-off-the-Osa-Peninsula-300x199.jpg?width=300" width="300" alt="Spinner-dolphins-caught-in-a-tuna-net-off-the-Osa-Peninsula-300x199.jpg?width=300" /></a>Commercial fishing techniques such as long lining, shrimping, gill netting and tuna fishing are wreaking havoc on this delicate and biologically diverse area and its marine inhabitants, and if urgent and drastic actions are not taken immediately, the world will lose this treasure forever. Costa Rica's dolphins, whales, sea turtles and other marine flora and fauna are being decimated at alarming rates,” declares the MPA for OSA website.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">By declaring the southern Pacific Coastal waters, from the Ballena Marine National Park out to Caño Island and down the Osa Peninsula, a “Multiple Use Marine Protected Area,” the MPA for OSA group hopes that that private, commercial and sport fishing, as well as scientific research, tourism and marine transportation can all work together sustainably.</p><p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>The MPA for OSA has created a <a title="Petition to help create a protected marine area off the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica" href="https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Help_Create_a_Protected_Marine_Area_off_the_Osa_Peninsula_of_Costa_Rica/sign/" target="_blank">petition on Avaaz</a></strong> to ask the Costa Rican government to <strong>fast track the establishment of the marine protected area</strong>. The group is calling for an immediate moratorium on commercial fishing in the area while details are worked out. The group also has a <a title="Funding campaign for MPA for OSA" href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-dolphins-whales-sea-turtles" target="_blank"><strong>crowd funding campaign</strong></a> to source funds to continue their research and get local communities and the government to work together.</p><p style="text-align:justify;"><a target="_blank" href="http://enchanting-costarica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Humpback-Whale-breaching-in-Golfo-Dulce-300x225.jpg"><img class="align-left" src="http://enchanting-costarica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Humpback-Whale-breaching-in-Golfo-Dulce-300x225.jpg?width=300" width="300" alt="Humpback-Whale-breaching-in-Golfo-Dulce-300x225.jpg?width=300" /></a><strong>Costa Rica’s South Pacific is one of the “most biologically diverse ocean ecosystems in the world,”</strong> according to the MPA for OSA. Off the coast of Costa Rica is an immense habitat called the <strong>Costa Rican Thermal Convection Dome</strong>, where shallow warm waters lie on top of low-oxygen cold water creating a perfect ecosystem for diverse marine life. This dome is the only one in the world that is constant year-round, producing extraordinary ecologically-rich waters.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">At <a title="Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica" href="http://www.nicuesalodge.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge</strong></a>, an environmentally <a title="Playa Nicuesa Lodge philosophy of sustainability" href="http://www.nicuesalodge.com/about-playa-nicuesa/our-philosophy-of-sustainability/conserving-the-osa-region/" target="_blank">sustainable</a> eco-lodge on the inner coast of the <strong>Golfo Dulce</strong>, you can <strong>see and experience Costa Rica’s amazing marine life</strong>. The award-winning eco-lodge offers <a title="Playa Nicuesa offers boat tours on Golfo Dulce to see marine life" href="http://www.nicuesalodge.com/activities/ocean-eco-adventures/" target="_blank"><strong>boat tours of the Gulf</strong></a> to see marine life such as dolphins, sea turtles and whales.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Located on a <strong>165-acre private preserve</strong> backing up to the <strong><a class="zem_slink" title="Piedras Blancas National Park" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedras_Blancas_National_Park" target="_blank">Piedras Blancas National Park</a></strong>, Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is a <strong>unique adventure travel destination</strong> for its remote, pristine wilderness location. They offer family vacations, honeymoon trips, nature and adventure vacations, and yoga classes and retreats.</p><p style="text-align:justify;"></p><p><strong>Article by <a title="Follow writer Shannon Farley on Google+" href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ShannonFarley/posts" target="_blank">Shannon Farley</a></strong></p></div>