On a beach in Costa Rica, as fishermen land the day's catch, two women are hard at work on a slimy sea bass skin, rubbing, scraping, washing and tanning the hide to turn it into leather.

Miller Gardner was on a family vacation in Costa Rica when he died unexpectedly on the morning of March 21. In the days following the teen’s untimely death, Dr. Kevin Gannon, who helps run both Manuel ...