The life of a fisherman on Isla Chira

For three days we were fortunate enough to have the chance to stay on Isla Chira, an island where we learned life is lived in some ways like it was in the 1950's in Costa Rica. This island is located in the Gulf of Nicoya, and is home to a few thousand residents living amongst the mangroves and beautiful forests and hills. Residents here largely depend on the sea for their living and have faced first hand the devastating costs of overfishing. We heard stories about how plentiful the fish were in years past, when a days work could yield a whole boat load of fish to sell. More recently, and especially as outside fishing companies have come to the island to fish, stocks have majorly dwindled. This has put a big strain on the ability for people to make ends meet - this situation perfectly fits the concept of the tragedy of the Commons, where a resource is exploited by independent actors at the expense of the common good. Instead of giving up hope, it was incredible to learn how residents of this island have come together to find solutions and proactively take charge of their own future. To help replenish fish supplies, many local fishermen have come to agreements about when, where, and what type of fish can be caught. Instead of taking everything they can get, community members are now working together to help protect their fishing waters and hold each other accountable. They are learning how to be good stewards of their home while also learning about organizing their own businesses that will help everyone grow. They have a goal to create their own fish processing plants to further help benefit the local economy, and have also developed a number of other cottage industries to supplement their income. We had a chance to go fishing with one of these leaders, and were humbled by how hard this work is and how welcomed we were into this community. It takes patience and passion to keep working to maintain their way of life and what is happening on this island is a great example of sustainable resource management that could be applied to many different issues being similarly faced both nationally and internationally. This world and it's resources are worth fighting for, and our time on Isla Chira was an inspiration as we all move forward as great change makers in our own communities.