BRIEFS: Environment

Torrijos says coiba will be protected

President Martín Torrijos acknowledged yesterday that it was “an oversight” that he signed a law that repealed the ban on purse-seine tuna fishing in the Parque Nacional Coiba (PNC).

“We are determined to correct this problem at the next sitting of the Asamblea Nacional,” Torrijos said.

The president also denied that any licenses had been granted to commercial fishing boats during his administration.

Torrijos said that law that was passed was meant to help the country's shrimp industry, and inadvertently included the PNC.

The president said that he is a sport-fishing enthusiast, and that he would not pass any law that would threaten one of Panama's top tourist attractions.

The legislators who wrote the law and pushed for its passage, Freidi Torres and his deputy Jácome Pinzón, could not be reached for comment about the president's announcement.

Gabriela Etchelecu, executive director of conservation group Fundación MarViva, said that the president's announcement was welcome news.

“We have worked with other groups to prevent illegal fishing within the park, and this law, when it was approved, was a major setback,” Etchelecu said.