Fuel costs squeeze Costa Mar's fishing fleet

Captain Miguel Vásquez has worked the same waters off Puerto Azul for thirty-two years, but this dry season feels different. The reef is still there—still breathing, as he puts it—but the fuel tank empties faster now, and the price at the dock has climbed past what his catch will fetch. Last week he landed 140 kilograms of snapper and grouper over three days at sea. The diesel alone cost him 340 florins. Ten years ago, the same catch would have left him 180 florins ahead.

Vásquez is not alone. Across Costa Mar's small-boat cooperative network, captains report that fuel costs have consumed what little margin remained between working and losing money. The Federal Hydro Authority's latest reservoir reading—taken at the Esperanza station on November 1st—showed levels at 62 percent, down from 68 percent a year ago at the same date. Lower water means less hydroelectric power flowing out, and when Costa Mar exports fewer kilowatts to the federal grid, the cost of diesel imports rises to fill the gap.

The cooperative's quota system, designed to protect breeding stock and reef health, has held steady at 280 tonnes per month across the region's licensed captains. But steady quotas and rising fuel costs mean fewer boats can afford to leave port. Some captains are talking about selling their permits. Others are considering a formal petition to the Federal Assembly, asking whether the quota structure should account for seasonal fuel volatility.