Dive tourism surges as cooperatives strain against federal quotas

The dive season arrived early this year. By the first week of June, operators across the peninsula reported occupancy rates that typically don't arrive until mid-July, with booking calendars extending into September. The surge has lifted spirits in Puerto Azul's tourism sector after two lean years, but it has also sharpened a standing tension: the federal fisheries quotas that govern how much marine life the region's cooperatives can sustainably harvest.

Captain Rodrigo Pérez, who runs a five-boat cooperative based in the coastal town of Boca Verde, said his crews are turning away walk-in divers three days a week. The Federal Hydro Authority's marine-conservation office has set Costa Mar's annual quota at 18,000 certified dives per cooperative. Pérez's operation is on track to hit that ceiling by August. "We could double our revenue if the quota doubled," he said. "But we also know why the quota exists."

The conflict is not new, but the timing is pressing. The Federal Assembly's Fisheries Committee is scheduled to review regional quotas in September, ahead of the 2027 general election. Costa Mar's Regional Assembly is already drafting a petition to Meridian arguing that the quota should rise to account for the region's growing reputation as a world-class dive destination. The federal government, meanwhile, has signalled caution: the Reef Monitoring Network's latest stress readings, released in May, showed concerning nutrient-runoff patterns in three key dive zones.