In the sleepy town of Chomes in Costa Rica, women across the pueblo fill their water bottles and prepare for an afternoon beneath the sun. Donning exercise wear and sandals, they trickle into the Chomes Restoration Center in the early hours of the morning. Thousands of mangrove saplings cover the forest floor before them. An approaching panga boat can be heard sputtering loudly from the river’s bend. And then, suddenly, the work begins. Backs bend, and hands dash to load the arriving skiff with saplings, all in preparation for the coming tree planting.

To all appearances, this group seems to be a restoration association. While they do indeed rehabilitate Chomes’ mangrove ecosystem, these women are first and foremost artisanal mollusk harvesters, or mulusqueras artesanales. Led by president Aracelly Jiménez Mora, these dedicated individuals are part of the Chomes Mollusk Harvesters Cooperative (La Cooperativa de Molusqueros de Chomes R.L.), a grassroots organisation that defends the livelihoods of its shellfish harvesters by protecting the ecosystem.

In Chomes, few industries exist outside of shellfish harvesting and fishing. Mangrove forests, which constitute the majority of the town’s coastal ecosystem, play a crucial role as a habitat for shellfish. These bivalves form the bedrock of the community’s economic system. In 2015, that fiscal foundation rapidly became unstable. As president Jiménez Mora explained: “It was a red tide,” which was responsible for poisoning shellfish in the area. Harvesting became unfeasible as the toxic algal bloom permeated the mangrove forests, rendering shellfish inedible and consequently unmarketable. That’s when the women began to mobilise.

Legally established in 2015, the Chomes Mollusk Harvesters Cooperative emerged in a seafood industry where women’s voices are frequently overlooked. Artisanal fishing is often practiced informally, and though women comprise a large portion of the aquaculture sector, this lack of formal employment often harms them the most. Without the protections provided by licensing or a company, many women are left without stable salaries, with no health care, unsafe working conditions, and no safety net to speak of. This leaves pescadoras and mulusqueras with limited bargaining power when it comes to their economic rights and livelihood.  Recognising this, the women of the Chomes Mollusk Harvesters Cooperative teamed up with a cooperative that had already been fighting this battle for years: CoopeSoLiDar.

CoopeSoliDar’s headquarters lie in the vibrant urban center of San Jose, Costa Rica. For over two decades, it has been championing the human rights of artisanal fishing communities through multifaceted environmental and political strategies. The cooperative works tirelessly to establish long-term partnerships with small-scale fisherpeople, shellfish extractors, and other aquaculture entities.

Both abroad and in Costa Rica, traditional knowledge has historically been ignored in fishing and shellfish management systems.  CoopeSoliDar’s advocacy efforts have been instrumental in securing formal recognition for traditional fishing rights, specifically empowering communities with the authority to collectively work on and manage their own blue ecosystems. Established by the San Jose Cooperative, the Network of Marine Areas for Responsible Fishing and Marine Territories of Life unites fishing and shellfish organisations, marine management communities, indigenous groups, and Afro-descendant groups. Together, they collaborate to develop comprehensive management plans that prioritise human rights, responsible resource management, and public policy change.

In 2014, after over seven years of operation, the network received official recognition from the Costa Rican Executive Branch, highlighting the government’s new commitment to both defend the rights of artisanal fishermen and promote sustainable management practices of marine-coastal resources. In addition to eradicating poverty in traditional fishing groups through right-to-work advocacy, one of CoopeSoliDar’s main goals is to elevate the dignity and human rights of women in the aquaculture sector. Despite being separated by over 70 miles of terrain, it was this guiding principle that led the cooperative to collaborate with the mulusqueras in Chomes. The partnership has proved incredibly advantageous for both organisations, as well as for Chomes’ ecosystem.

It was CoopeSoliDar who encouraged the Chomes mulusqueras to obtain legal status. At its inception, the Chomes Mollusk Harvesters Cooperative boasted 40 female and two male mollusk harvesters. Over time, their ranks have swelled, with an increasing number of men joining their cause, and an increasing number of mollusk extraction licenses being distributed. As is the case with any retail industry, formalisation enables individuals to better negotiate prices. It also instills a sense of pride in women who find fulfilment in their roles as both independent earners and recognised fisherpeople.

The fact remains, however, that women form a substantial portion of this largely unseen and undervalued shellfish industry. Within the Chomes cooperative, many of the mollusk harvesters act as the singular head of their households, providing for large families. On a good day, a mulusquera can anticipate earning 10,000 Costa Rican colones from shellfish sales, equivalent to approximately 20 USD. A bad harvest can send economic ripples through the community, particularly impacting the most vulnerable, namely women and low-income individuals. These earnings entirely hinge on the quality of the shellfish and, likewise, on the quality of the environment.

That’s why one of the Chomes cooperative’s first initiatives was to establish a participatory mollusk ecosystem management plan. Through balanced and responsible environmental stewardship, this proposal ensures that the cooperative’s shellfish extraction will remain profitable in the long term. For this group of enterprising women, red tide and shellfish contamination would be things of the past. “At first, we said we were doing it to help the environment. Over time, we realised that if we took care of the mangroves, our product was not going to become extinct. Our product was going to be a good-quality, better product,” emphasised president Jiménez Mora.

Collaborating with CoopeSoliDar and INCOPESCA (The Costa Rican Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture), the two organisations crafted an extensive 127-page Participatory Plan for the Management of Mollusks in the Chomes area. A privately initiated community management plan of this magnitude was a first of its kind in Costa Rica. Included in these efforts is a substantial reforestation initiative.

In addition to providing shellfish habitat, mangroves contribute to water quality improvement by acting as a natural filter for excess nitrates, phosphates, and other pollutants. These intertidal trees function as powerful carbon sinks, storing excess carbon primarily in their soil. Better yet, this carbon retention helps mitigate the risk of ocean acidification, a phenomenon linked to the deterioration of the bicarbonate in mollusk shells.

In short, the relationship between the mollusk harvesting cooperative and the Chomes forest is one of mutualism — they both benefit from the existence of the other. As of 2023, The Chomes Mollusk Harvesters Cooperative has planted nearly 23,000 mangrove trees. Two days each month, the cooperative collects trash from both the town and surrounding wetlands. They proudly state that all of this has led to cleaner, more abundant harvests. Their work has attracted both national and international attention, with their most recent mass planting being funded in part by Women4Biodiversity, an international nonprofit dedicated to elevating both nature and women’s roles through high-impact environmental projects.

The relationship between the Chomes Mollusk Harvesters Cooperative and CoopeSoliDar continues to strengthen over time. In 2016, CoopeSoliDar hosted Un Foro Nacional de Mujeres Pescadoras, a National Forum of Fisherwomen in Chomes. Attended by women fishers and mollusk harvesters from around the country, this multi-day forum culminated not only in a deeply meaningful exchange of knowledge and support among the women but also in a comprehensive Fisherwomen’s Agenda formally known as La Agenda de Las Mujeres de Los Mares, Rios, Costas y Humedales. Covering everything from economic empowerment, environmental conservation, and education needs, this agenda explicitly lays out the demands and needs of female fisherwomen and mollusk harvesters in Costa Rica.

The women and men of the Chomes cooperative continue to thrive. Nearly all members of the cooperative are legally licensed by INCOPESCA, a rarity in Costa Rica where, according to CoopeSoliDar, seven out of 10 artisanal fishers lack proper licensing. This means that this group of mollusk harvesters can more easily sell their product, and sell it at higher prices. These days, many members contract directly with CoopeSoliDar’s Mercado Del Mar in San Jose.

Operated by CoopeSoliDar, this market directly purchases from its network of sustainable artisanal fishing communities. Many of these communities have achieved formal legal status, economic stabilisation, and, most importantly, a restored sense of dignity under the cooperative’s leadership. CoopeSoliDar’s members often experience increased profits by selling through the cooperative. In a landscape where fisherwomen commonly receive lower prices than their male counterparts for the same catch, Mercado del Mar eliminates the middleman between the seller and the retailer. This directly benefits the fisherwomen, providing them with better prices and enhanced economic independence in a male-dominated society.

Many women, when asked about their experience as part of the Chomes Cooperative, express a profound satisfaction in earning their own income through mollusk sales. This fulfilment is made possible by their enduring relationship with CoopeSoliDar. When president Aracelly Jimenez Mora is asked about the future of the cooperative, she is thinking bigger: “At the very least, we want to make the cooperative more of a company that can develop this area.”

And perhaps, these types of businesses are precisely what the conservation and aquaculture sector needs. In a culture ruled by machismo, and in a global economy that fails to reconcile the economic benefits of integrated environmental stewardship and women’s liberation, this predominantly female cooperative offers a glimmer of hope.

Much like the symbiotic relationship between shellfish and mangroves, this group demonstrates every day that profitable businesses can thrive with principles firmly grounded in dignity, women’s rights, and sustainable environmental management.