Oceans & Turtles · Barra del Colorado, Limón

Barra del Colorado Fishing Guides Train in Gentler Tarpon Release

In early 2026, captains, anglers and tourism operators in Barra del Colorado Sur, on Costa Rica's northern Caribbean coast, held a community workshop on better catch-and-release handling, The Tico Times reported on March 4. It was part of a wider effort by local guides and the sport fishing federation FECOP to protect tarpon, whose numbers guides say have fallen, and the jobs that depend on them.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published November 10, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Costa Rica Caribbean Community Pushes Sustainable Sportfishing to Protect Jobs and Wildlife (2026-03-04)

Barra del Colorado Sur is a small Caribbean town of river channels, lagoons and wetlands near the Nicaraguan border, where fishing tourism supports jobs in guiding, lodging, food, river transport and small shops. In early 2026, the people who make their living there sat down to tighten the way they handle the fish their business depends on.

What the workshop covered

Anglers, boat captains and tourism operators met at Tarpon Land Lodge for a community training on responsible sportfishing, The Tico Times reported on March 4. The report didn't give the exact date or name the organizers, describing it as a community-led effort from Barra del Colorado's tourism-fishing sector.

The focus was practical. Participants went over choosing the right hooks, including circle hooks where they suit, which tend to catch a fish in the jaw instead of deep in the throat. They talked about shorter fights, less handling, quick and careful photos, and releasing fish strong enough to survive. They also reviewed size limits, catch quotas and operating rules.

The session drew a line between two activities that often get lumped together. Sportfishing can allow regulated personal consumption in some cases, while tourism fishing is built mainly around catch-and-release. Organizers said the push came after concerns about uneven practices and a wish to protect the town's reputation. Next steps included making protocols more visible to guests and working more closely with authorities.

Why tarpon are worth the effort

The star of the Caribbean coast is the tarpon, called sábalo real in Spanish, a big, silver fish famous for leaping when hooked. The waters around Barra del Colorado sit inside the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge, created in 1985, which takes in rivers, lagoons, wetlands and flooded forest.

The 2026 workshop grew out of a worry raised years earlier. The Asociación Ecoturística Barra del Colorado Sur, led by Eduardo Pérez of Kawé Lodge, told the sport fishing federation FECOP that guides were seeing fewer tarpon, an estimated drop of about 40% based on their own observations rather than a formal study, Delfino.cr reported in October 2024. That led to a visit from the U.S.-based Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, with partners including the Tortuguero Conservation Area, Incopesca, local captains and Tarpon Land Lodge.

The trust's science director, Aaron Adams, said then that Costa Rica's tarpon habitat was in good shape, and that handling makes a big difference. Keeping fights to about 30 minutes and the fish in the water can raise survival to around 90%, he told Delfino.cr, while lifting it out or fighting it longer can drop survival to 50% to 60%.

What happened since

The effort kept going after March. On May 1, Delfino.cr reported on a "Tarpon Trail" exchange in Puerto Jiménez, where Caribbean and Pacific captains, guides and scientists from FECOP and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute shared tarpon biology and release methods and fished together. It was part of FECOP's Pesca Turística Participativa project, funded by the U.S. Embassy, whose director, Damián Martínez-Fernández, said the aim was to help fishers take a stronger part in managing fisheries. The group also confirmed tarpon in Pacific waters, where the species has been turning up more often in recent decades.

On May 21, a FECOP feature published by El Mundo CR profiled the Barra del Colorado association's work. It noted that past tournaments reportedly let anglers kill hundreds of tarpon a year, that catch-and-release is now the norm guides promote, and that the community still struggles with limited state presence.

As of Oct. 31, we found no public data measuring whether tarpon numbers or release survival have changed since the workshop.

What it means for visitors

A single training doesn't prove every boat follows best practice, but it shows where the local standard is heading. If you fish, ask your captain about circle hooks, how long fights usually run and whether fish stay in the water for photos. If you don't, the same channels and wetland forest are worth seeing by boat with a local guide. Courts have also been weighing how Pacific sportfishing is run, as in the ruling on anchored fish-aggregating devices. Our guides to responsible fishing and marine conservation go deeper.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Barra del Colorado?

It's on Costa Rica's northern Caribbean coast in Limón province, near the Nicaraguan border, inside a wildlife refuge of rivers, lagoons and wetlands created in 1985.

Is tarpon fishing in Costa Rica catch-and-release?

Tourism fishing for tarpon is built mainly around catch-and-release, and local guides promote it. Rules on size limits and catch quotas still apply.

Do tarpon survive being caught and released?

Many do if handled well. Bonefish & Tarpon Trust's Aaron Adams has said short fights and keeping the fish in the water can raise survival to around 90%.

Are tarpon declining in Costa Rica?

Barra del Colorado guides have reported seeing about 40% fewer tarpon, based on their own observations. There's no formal population study confirming it.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Costa Rica Caribbean Community Pushes Sustainable Sportfishing to Protect Jobs and Wildlife (2026-03-04)
2. Delfino.cr: Costa Rica podría convertirse en un líder global para la conservación del sábalo real (2024-10-21)
3. Delfino.cr: Expansión del sábalo al Pacífico impulsa intercambio entre pescadores en Costa Rica (2026-05-01)
4. El Mundo CR (FECOP): Amar lo propio, pescar en el Caribe costarricense (2026-05-21)
5. FECOP: official site
6. Bonefish & Tarpon Trust: official site

We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.