Casa Caletas Resort Owner Accused of Toxic Spraying in Wildlife Refuge

Casa Caletas in Costa Rica advertises itself as Honeymoon Getaway Resort:

"An in imaginable different kind of place where exclusivity and its good taste join hand in hand with the magic of a paradise-like scenery, awaits for you at Casa Caletas. Located on the beautiful and unexplored Gulf of Nicoya in Guanacaste, only five minutes from Playa Caletas airport and 30 minutes away from Punta Islita Airport, make Casa Caletas the perfect location for your leisure on the beautiful beaches of Coyote, Caletas, Manzanillo and Ma Pais."

But don't tell the local wildlife in the adjectent Caletas-Arío Refuge where accusations of toxic spraying and a recently surfaced video highlights the need for NGO's in the region to remain ever vigilant against damage to the refuge.

Costa Rican Conservation Network - First Person Shark Fin Report

Allan Bolaños needs an award.

For the past few years the conservation world has been missing a key element in the shark fin story, first person and eye witness accounts of the ongoing shark slaughter.

We follow a number of blogs on the Internet and the Costa Rican Conservation Network is one of them.

Allan is a Pretoma marine researcher, after a week long odyssey with long liners in the region he comes back with this bloody, if not completely credible, first person report.

Not only is shark finning as bad as reported in the region but the "choicest fins" are in fact the most bizarre with the the caudal fin, or “timon” in Spanish being the most sought after fins on the Costa Rican market right now.

"In my last trip on the open ocean I observed that the shark finning problem is probably worse then ever”, he said. ”One species in particular, scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) are being targeted the most. You can’t sell its meat back in port, but its fins are well received.”

Allan's complete report is here.

Kudos to the entire team for this post. More about the CRCN here.