Guide
Responsible Fishing in Costa Rica: Fishing Communities and Fair Seafood
How Costa Rica's artisanal fishers manage their own waters, what responsible fishing areas are, and how to choose seafood that supports coastal families.
Communities · Isla Venado, Gulf of Nicoya, Puntarenas
Isla Venado Fishers Turn Driftwood into Crafts in the Gulf of Nicoya
On Isla Venado, a small island in Costa Rica's Gulf of Nicoya, a fishers' craft venture called Artesanías B&M is turning driftwood and other discarded materials into handmade decorative pieces. Backed by the MarViva Foundation and funded by the Blue Action Fund, it was reported in June 2026 as a way to earn extra income as fishing alone gets harder.
On Isla Venado, a small island of fishing families in Costa Rica's Gulf of Nicoya, the tide brings in more than fish. A local craft venture called Artesanías B&M collects wood that washes up on the shore, along with other salvaged materials, and turns it by hand into decorative pieces and keepsakes. It's a modest project, but it shows how island families are trying to stay tied to the sea while depending on it a little less.
What Artesanías B&M makes
The venture was featured in June 2026, first by Delfino.cr on June 23 and then by The Tico Times the next day. Both describe pieces inspired by the island's landscape, fishing traditions and everyday life, made from driftwood and other materials that would otherwise be treated as trash. The artisans don't cut trees for their work.
Pablo Mora Salas, one of the artisans, told the outlets that the group set out to turn materials many people see as waste into crafts that bring in income for their families, because relying only on fishing keeps getting harder. Neither report says how many people take part or how long the venture has been running, so it's best understood as a small family-scale business rather than a large cooperative.
Who's behind it
The project gets hands-on support from Fundación MarViva, a marine conservation nonprofit that works with coastal communities in the Gulf of Nicoya and beyond, and funding from the Blue Action Fund, a foundation that gives grants to conservation groups working to protect coastal waters and improve livelihoods in developing countries.
Melissa Álvarez Barquero, MarViva's communications manager, said in the reports that "sustainable production alternatives are essential" for making coastal communities more resilient.
The craft venture is one piece of a wider push. In April 2026, MarViva and the Blue Action Fund highlighted a network of community-run tourism and small businesses across the Gulf of Nicoya, including Isla Venado, Isla Chira, Costa de Pájaros, Manzanillo and Puntarenas, Delfino.cr reported. That network covers mangrove tours, responsible artisanal fishing, mangrove beekeeping, local food, rural lodging and sustainable crafts. MarViva's executive director, Katherine Arroyo Arce, framed it as building marine conservation together with the people who depend on the sea.
Why fishing families need other income
The Gulf of Nicoya is one of Costa Rica's most important fishing grounds and one of its most pressured. Years of overfishing and illegal fishing have thinned catches, and artisanal fishers in the gulf's island communities have few other jobs to fall back on.
To give fish stocks a break, Costa Rica's fisheries agency, INCOPESCA, closes much of the inner gulf to commercial and sport fishing for part of each year. For 2026, its board set that closure, known as the veda, from May 1 to July 31, under agreement AJDIP/101-2026. During the veda, eligible fishers receive government support, but many families still look for side income, from aquaculture and tourism to crafts like these. Our guide to responsible fishing and coastal livelihoods looks at how fishing communities around the country are adapting.
About Isla Venado
Isla Venado sits in the inner Gulf of Nicoya, in the Lepanto district of Puntarenas province, a short boat ride from the Nicoya Peninsula coast. Roughly 1,300 to 1,400 people live there, according to local estimates, in a handful of small communities linked by a road that loops about 7 km around the island, according to an Isla Venado community guide built by University of Costa Rica students. The island has schools, electricity and internet, and a public clinic team visits twice a week, but there's no ATM.
The island also has a long history of community-led fisheries work. INCOPESCA approved a responsible fishing marine area (AMPR) for Isla Venado in 2013, managed with local fishers, and island cooperatives have experimented with mussel and shrimp farming.
Visiting and buying responsibly
Isla Venado isn't a resort island. It's a working fishing community that's slowly opening to small-group, locally run tourism, with small lodgings, kayaking, bike rentals, tours and walks. If you go, book with island guides or community associations, plan around the tides, and buy crafts directly from the makers so the money stays on the island. For more community-run trips around Costa Rica, see our eco-villages map and our guide to community projects in Costa Rica.
Fishing communities on the Pacific coast are finding other ways to protect the sea too. See our story on coastal communities joining a coral reef protection campaign.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Isla Venado in Costa Rica?
Isla Venado is a small inhabited island in the inner Gulf of Nicoya, in the Lepanto district of Puntarenas province, reached by boat from the Nicoya Peninsula side of the gulf.
What is Artesanías B&M?
It's a small craft venture run by fishers on Isla Venado that turns driftwood and other discarded materials into handmade decorative pieces, supported by Fundación MarViva and funded by the Blue Action Fund.
When is the Gulf of Nicoya fishing ban?
INCOPESCA sets an annual closure, or veda, in the inner gulf. In 2026 it ran from May 1 to July 31 for commercial and sport fishing, with some exceptions for licensed shellfish harvesting.
Can tourists visit Isla Venado?
Yes. Small-scale community tourism is growing there, including small lodgings, kayaking, tours and walks. It's best to arrange visits through local guides and to plan boat trips around the tides.
Sources and original reporting
- The Tico Times: Costa Rica Fishermen Turn Recycled Wood into Handmade Art (2026-06-24)
- Delfino.cr: Emprendimiento de pescadores de Isla Venado convierte residuos marinos en artesanías (2026-06-23)
- Delfino.cr: Golfo de Nicoya apuesta por el turismo sostenible liderado por comunidades locales (2026-04-14)
- INCOPESCA: AJDIP/101-2026, Aprueba Veda Golfo de Nicoya 2026
- Isla Venado community guide (UCR graduation project)
- Blue Action Fund
We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.
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