Thousands of Costa Ricans Organize to Say No More Shark Finning and No More Illegal Privileges
Written by Admin
Monday, 18 October 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Randall Arauz, President TEL: +(506) 241-5227 FAX: +(506) 236-6017
Thousands of Costa Ricans Organize to Say No More Shark Finning and No More Illegal Privileges for Taiwanese Vessels
October 19, 2004 - San Jose, Costa Rica
On Saturday October 16,
Costa Rican citizens hit the streets to say "No more Shark Finning" as
well as to call on Customs to enforce the laws which regulate foreign
vessels landing shark fins, and to urge that the government investigate
why after corrupt Costa Rican politicians received money from Taiwan,
Taiwanese vessels have been allowed to land shark fins with impunity at
Costa Rican docks.
The event was held at the Culture
Plaza (photos below) in the center of downtown San Jose, the capital of
Costa Rica. In attendance were members of the Costa Rican Congress,
members of 15 Costa Rican NGOs and hundreds citizens of all ages from
Puntarenas, which is considered to be the most important port in
Central America for Taiwanese vessels landing shark fins for export to
Asian markets. School children created posters and banners and
performed music and dances with "No more Shark Finning" themes.
Thousands
signed the petition to the President and Customs calling for real
controls over the Taiwanese shark fishing vessels and enforcement of
the law which says foreign vessels cannot land at private docks. These
vessels are allowed to disregard that law and as a result, foreign
vessels illegally land hundreds of tons of shark fins each year. The
petition now has more than 60,000 signatures.
Activities in
Culture Plaza were followed by a massive march along Central Avenue and
a demonstration in front of Customs headquarters with chants of "No
More Shark Finning", "Enforce the Law in the Private Docks", and
"Investigate Privileges for Taiwanese Vessels".
The event was
organized by PRETOMA as part of the campaign against shark finning and
landing of shark fins by foreign vessels. This campaign has taken on
a new twist given the recent discovery of massive corruption between
Taiwan and Costa Rican politicians.
"We, along with the people of
Puntarenas, and everyone we meet, have been asking, why is it that
Taiwanese vessels have impunity above the law, and why do our
government agencies like Customs fight to maintain those privileges for
the Taiwanese?" says Randall Arauz, President of PRETOMA. "Now we know
that right after massive payments into the personal accounts of Costa
Rican politicians, including ex-President Miguel Angel Rodriguez
(1998-2002), Taiwanese shark finning vessels became immune to Costa
Rican laws."
"A deep investigation is in order. The government has a lot of explaining to do."
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
.
