Captain Luis Mendoza navigates rising fuel costs and tighter catch limits

Before sunrise, the wooden pier at Puerto Azul stirs as the tide pulls in a thin line of fishing boats. Luis Mendoza checks his engine, noting the faint hiss of diesel that has become a daily expense. The air carries the scent of salt and wet timber, a reminder of decades spent at sea.

Mendoza's 2025 catch averaged 1.2 metric tons per week, according to the Costa Mar Reef Monitoring Network. This year, the average has slipped to 0.9 tons, a 25 % drop that the cooperative attributes to both shifting currents and stricter federal quotas. Meanwhile, the Federal Hydro Authority reports diesel at ₣ 0.84 per liter, up from ₣ 0.71 a year earlier.

A new Treasury rule announced in July limits foreign‑origin credit to Costa Mar's fisheries cooperatives unless they meet a residency‑investment test. Mendoza says the policy threatens the loan his group obtained from an overseas green‑energy fund last spring. He will explain how he plans to keep his crew fed and his nets in the water despite the financial squeeze.