FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Randall Arauz, President
TEL:  +(506) 241-5227
FAX:  +(506) 236-6017

March Against Shark Finning and Privileges for Taiwanese Vessels in Costa Rica

October 15, 2004 - San Jose, Costa Rica
This Saturday, October 16, between 9am - 1pm a group of NGOs lead by PRETOMA are holding a march o­n Central Avenue in downtown San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica from.  The march is against shark finning and the longstanding privileges provided to foreign shark fishing vessels especially Taiwanese that land hundreds of tons of shark fins in Costa Rica each year. 

The march will be preceded by cultural activities in the Plaza de Cultura including dances, music and presentations related to shark finning, marine conservation performed by students from Puntarenas, Costa Rica's largest Pacific port, and San Jose.  There will also be presentations by national fishermen who have seen shark and all marine resources disappearing with the influx of larger foreign vessels, notably the Taiwanese fleet, that directs fishing efforts at sharks, but whose millions of indiscriminate hooks incidentally capture any species that takes the bait.  

There will be opportunities to sign a petition against shark finning which now has more than 50,000 signatures.  The petition calls o­n the President and Customs to halt the practice of shark finning and enforce true controls over the foreign vessels by enforcing the national Customs Law.  Article 212 of that law states that foreign vessels cannot land at private unauthorized docks, yet Customs allows all foreign vessels landings to occur there. 

"By tolerating and encouraging foreign vessels to land at private unauthorized docks Customs is giving them the opportunity to practice shark finning and then land the fins where it is very easy to evade controls," says Jorge Ballestero of PRETOMA.  "This not o­nly permits the landing of shark fins, but allows vessels to evade taxes, health, migration and security controls."

"These vessels might fly flags from Taiwan, Indonesia, Belize, or Georgia, but they all have Taiwanese captains and crews," notes Randall Arauz, President of PRETOMA.  "Many of the private docks owners are also Taiwanese with direct links to the shark fin trade.  With the discovery of all the illegal Taiwanese donations of millions of US dollars made to Costa Rican politicians, some very big questions come up regarding the privileges given to the Taiwanese vessels that land shark fins here."

The march will end with a large demonstration in front of the Ministry of Hacienda (Customs), urging Customs to bring the foreign vessels and private docks into compliance with the law.

PRETOMA is a Costa Rican non-profit, non-governmental, marine conservation organization that works to promote responsible fisheries and protect sea turtles, sharks and marine biodiversity.  Contact .