Costa Rica: relatively healthy maritime species

Costa Rica comes first in the region, in terms of creating favaorable conditions for plant and animal life in territorial waters. However, the seas that wash the shores of Central America are in general in poor condition, when it comes to the conservation and proliferation of marine life, according to the Ocean Health Index, published by Conservation International, the National Geographic Society, the New England Aquarium and Pacific Life Foundation, which takes into account 171 coastal regions around the world.

Costa Rica finished in 38th position, while Guatemala was in 51st place. The other countries of the region are near the bottom of the list. Germany, Estonia, Canada and Netherlands took the first five places, with Japan and Denmark tied for fifth.

The ranking considers the management of the fishing industry, and the existence of opportunities to raise fish and seafood sustainably to meet the growing demands for food for the population, among other factors.

Over 40% of the world population lives in coastal areas, and to the degree that the world population grows from 7 billion to 9 billion, people will become increasingly dependent on the sea for food, livelihood and recreation.

However, approximately 84% of monitored marine life has been exploited to the point of exhaustion. The capacity of the world's fishing fleets is 2.5 times higher than sustainable levels of fishing, according to estimates.


The figures show the positions of Central American countries in the index.

1-Costa Rica (38)
2-Guatemala (51)
3-Panama (129)
4-Honduras (142)
5-El Salvador (147)
6-Nicaragua (157)