Costa Rican President Named Shark Enemy of the Year
Written by Admin
Tuesday, 24 January 2006
Costa Rican President Named Shark Enemy of the Year
(January 24, 2006 – San Jose, Costa Rica) Saturday, the president of Costa Rica, Dr. Abel Pacheco de la Espriella, was named the International Shark Enemy of the Year. The prize was presented by the international organization Shark Project of Germany, during a ceremony held in Düsseldorf. President Pacheco was nominated for the prize last June, because shark related laws during his administration have been continuously disregarded due to special agreements and exemptions for foreign, mostly Taiwanese shark fishing vessels by Costa Rica’s National Fishery Institute (INCOPESCA) and the Customs Department.
This was the third year Shark Project has awarded the prize, a large trophy in the shape of a shark fin. Last year the prize was given to the King of Spain, due to Spain’s role as a major shark fishing country. According to Shark Project the award is designed to make people aware about the status of sharks in general and what goes on in the respective country in particular.The prize was created by Shark Project given the steep declines in shark populations worldwide during the last 50 years (over 100 million sharks are killed annually); the important role sharks play as top predators in the food chain; the erroneous reputation of sharks as man hunters; the increased demand for shark fin soup – a luxury dish in Asian countries driving the practice of shark finning where shark fins are cut off and bodies discarded, often still alive, at sea; the vulnerability of sharks due to slow birth rates and the resulting difficulties they face recovering from overexploitation.
“It is a true shame that President Pacheco won this prize,” says Randall Arauz, President of PRETOMA, a Costa Rican NGO that has led a campaign against shark finning for the last 4 years. “The few times I’ve had the opportunity to personally discuss shark finning with Dr. Pacheco, one gets the sense that he is against shark finning and supports marine conservation. Unfortunately his apparent personal support for shark conservation has not translated into effective policies in his government Ministries.”
President Pacheco has spoken publicly against shark finning, his Ministry of Environment (MINAE) has fought hard to protect sharks and promote marine conservation, and Congress has approved laws to ban the finning of sharks; however, the policies of Customs and the INCOPESCA clearly have brought this prize on the President and on Costa Rica.
• In 2002 and 2003, INCOPESCA blatantly failed to enforce a national ban on shark finning. • In 2003, INCOPESCA then passed a regulation that allowed foreign vessels to fin 60% of all sharks captured and land fins in Costa Rica under the guise of a “new shark finning ban”. • When a new Fisheries Law was passed banning shark finning again in April of 2005, INCOPESCA immediately opened loopholes for foreign vessels to continue finning and landing fins in Costa Rica. Even though these loopholes have been pointed out by MINAE and the National Attorney General, INCOPESCA has continued to ignore the laws. • Throughout the entire administration of President Pacheco, the Customs Department has allowed foreign vessels to land shark fins at private docks, where it is easy to evade controls, in direct violation of the national Customs Law.
More than 60 national and 30 international groups, such as APREFLOFAS, UESPRA, Yiski, Conservation International, and over 75,000 Costa Rican petition signers have been calling for an end to loopholes in shark finning controls for years.
“As one can see, the policies of Customs and INCOPESCA during the Pacheco administration have not been in favor of shark conservation, but rather have promoted the foreign, especially Taiwanese, shark fishing vessels landing shark fins in Costa Rica,” says Jorge Ballestero, Fisheries Director for PRETOMA. “Costa Rica always likes to put forth a conservationist image and relies on that image for tourism and international standing, but I think the message of this prize is that we can’t claim to be a conservationist country and promote overexploitation of sharks at the same time.”
Each year Shark Project receives thousands of shark related emails, phone calls and letters from around the world. After selection of the most negative and positive ones, an official nomination takes place (through members of Shark Project and members of the Shark Alliance). After that, the nominated countries are then visited to verify the accusations (or their honorous work for the Shark Guardian of the year). In the case of Costa Rica, Gerhard Wegner, Shark Project president visited the country for 14 days, had several talks with different groups and verified the accusations. This trip was also documented by a TV crew and the report has been aired on a European wide basis.
“Decades of mismanagement and a belief that ocean resources are infinite have left the oceans in severe crisis,” reminds Arauz. “Restoring the oceans will require a concerted national and international effort with policies which ensure the long-term health of commercial and endangered species. Costa Rica can be a leader in that effort, but the policies of INCOPESCA and Customs during the Pacheco administration have been a step backward for marine conservation and for Costa Rica. Four months remain in the Pacheco administration, still time to enforce Customs laws and close loopholes, and put Costa Rica back in the vanguard of sustainable-use policies.”
PRETOMA (Programa Restauración de Tortugas Marinas) is a Costa Rican non-profit, non-governmental, marine conservation organization that works to promote sustainable fisheries and protect sea turtles, sharks and marine biodiversity. PRETOMA is a member of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals). Contact / www.tortugamarina.org.
