Fish exports plunge 70% since 2008.

PANAMA fish exports have plunged seventy percent since 2008  from  $419.9 million to $28.73 million at the end of 2016.

Representatives from the sector put the blame on the ban on the use of longlines introduced in 2010.

They claim the ban on the lines with thousands of hooks ­ decreased fishing for tuna and dorado, two migratory species that made up most of the exports.

The move enabled, Costa Rica and Ecuador to fill the gap and increase their  exports of the species.

The ban also cost the jobs of about 1,000 people working on fishing vessels, not counting those working at the Vacamonte processing plants, and the logistic chain that backed the 1,000 containers that were exported each year from Panama.

As a way  to reviving the industry, the government, in conjunction with the private sector, is studying the possibility of allowing regulated industrial fishing with longlines.

Closed periods would be established, locations identified for fishing and vessels using the GPS system to monitor their location.