Costa Rica’s ambitious blue economic development journey is firmly on course, driven by its recently drafted first-ever oceans economy and trade strategy that seeks to harness two fisheries big pelagics and coastal fish.
UNCTAD and the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) brought together more than 50 government representatives, key fisheries actors and other development partners to discuss and validate the strategy during a workshop held 30 and 31 October in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
The strategy was formulated under the Oceans Economy and Trade Strategies (OETS) project implemented in Costa Rica by UNCTAD and DOALOS in cooperation with UNDP.
The project aims to support developing countries in realizing economic benefits from the sustainable use of marine resources.
There is immense potential to use resources more sustainably, scale up value addition and enhance social inclusion in these two fisheries, UNCTAD’s legal officer David Vivas Eugui said.
In the past five years, Costa Rica’s trade balance surplus for coastal fish has ranged between US$10 and $25 million, which could be increased, he added.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development