The possibility of traditional Samara fishermen having their own collection center depends on the Municipality of Nicoya transferring land ownership to the name of the association.
In this center, small producers could process their products and distribute them to different parts of the province.
The mayor of Nicoya, Marcos Jimenez, explained that the delay is due to a family invading the land― located near the community of Torito― and now the municipality needs to evict them.
“There are people who intruded there improperly many years ago and they did not want to leave. We are in an absolute battle that the Maritime Land Zone office is carrying out to evict them,” the mayor commented.
According to Freddy Lopez, president of the Asociacion de Pescadores Artesanales de Playa Samara (Samara Beach Traditional Fishermen’s Association), the collection center would benefit the more than 60 members. There they could vacuum pack fish, they would have an ice plant that produces one ton per day and an administrative office would be set up.
The project has a budget of about ¢50 billion (about $93 million) and was presented to the Rural Development Institute (INDER) for funding.
Wendy Llezca, technical secretary of INDER’s Territorial Council, explained that the collection center was not included in the 2017 budget since it did not have viability (possibility of being carried out) because of not having the property. Nevertheless, the proposal is on the waiting list and could be considered for 2018.
The Dock, the Second Part
The Fishermen’s Association is also proposing a small boat dock to the Municipality, which would be located at the end of the beach toward the side of Carrillo Beach.
“The dock is a necessity since, if we want to sell a quality product, it must be handled well. With a dock, you can just come and unload,” Lopez said.
The president explained that the site where they intend to build the dock has favorable characteristics, since the water is very calm, plus fishermen from neighboring beaches like Garza could benefit.
The dock would be developed as the second phase of their plans (after the collection center), since technical and environmental impact studies are still needed.
Although both projects have been presented to the Municipality, the mayor of Nicoya said that they have to wait for the eviction cases to be resolved and he did not specify how much longer it could take to resolve.
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