JACO – Sportfishermen along the central Pacific coast are up in arms after some were harassed on the high seas by commercial fishing outfits.

Fishermen have reported at least three incidents in the past several weeks in which commercial tuna boats employed low-flying helicopters, explosives, an AK-47 assault rifle and other aggressive tactics to intimidate sportfishing boats that had tourists on board.

An estimated 50 fishermen met this week with Guillermo Ramírez, an attorney for the Costa Rican Fisheries Institute (INCOPESCA), to discuss the incident.