Costa Rican Constitutional Court Rules Customs Dept Violating Constitution for Failure to Resolve Illegal Shark Fin Landings
Ruling based on official cases filed by PRETOMA against Customs and Fishery Department (INCOPESCA)
(June 10, 2004 - San Jose, Costa Rica) CASE #1: on May 31, 2003
Costa Rican Coast Guard officials witnessed a Taiwanese vessel, Guida U
Ruey I, flying a Panamanian flag of convenience, landing 30 tons of
shark fins at a private dock in Puntarenas in violation of an INCOPESCA
ban on landing shark fins. Given the private nature of the dock, the
Coast Guard officials could not take action. The fins were quickly
transported to an unknown location in three container trucks.
CASE
#2: on July 31, 2003, the Taiwanese vessel, Ho Tsai Fa #18 was
reported landing shark fins at a private dock in Puntarenas in
violation of the same INCOPESCA ban on landing shark fins. Coast
Guard officials sought a warrant to enter the dock, but strangely,
INCOPESCA hindered the granting of the warrant, claiming that no
irregularities were occurring. Film footage shows dock workers
processing shark fins next to the vessel in the early morning hours at
the private dock.
PRETOMA filed official denouncements on
both cases at the Customs Police alleging that INCOPESCA fails to
enforce its own regulations and that Customs fails to inspect products
landed at private docks. In relation to both cases PRETOMA pointed out
that Costa Rican Customs Law clearly states that private docks must
receive a special permit and be declared in the public interest in
order to receive landings by foreign vessels. No private docks in
Costa Rica have thus far obtained such a permit. Oddly, all foreign
shark fishing vessels are allowed by Customs and INCOPESCA to land at
the private docks.
After months of no concrete response on
either case, on September 9, 2003, PRETOMA filed at the Customs Police
calling for a precautionary measure to be implemented. PRETOMA
specifically called for a halt on landings by foreign vessels at
private docks until such landings are clearly authorized by Costa Rican
law.
Due to administrative silence and an apparent reluctance
to apply a precautionary measure, PRETOMA then filed at the
Constitutional Court. PRETOMA alleged that both INCOPESCA and Customs
were violating article 50 of the Costa Rican Constitution -- which
grants all Costa Ricans the right to a healthy environment and
ecologically balanced ecosystems -- by allowing shark fins to be landed
without effective government controls. The practice of shark finning
is known worldwide to be a wasteful and unsustainable practice causing
severe declines in shark populations, up to 99% in some areas,
endangering these species which play a vital role in ocean ecosystems.
PRETOMA studies show shark population declines of 60% in the last 10
years in Costa Rican waters and Costa Rican fisherman report the same.
On May 24, 2004 the Court ruled that Customs was both violating
article 50 of the Constitution and was taking an unjustifiable amount
of time to resolve the denouncements planted by PRETOMA. Subsequently,
the Court ordered Customs to resolve PRETOMA's case by June 4, 2004.
As of today, Customs has still not notified PRETOMA of a resolution
clearly violating the Court Ruling.
"The only effective
precautionary measure is to halt the landings of foreign vessels at
private docks until they apply for permits and are deemed in the public
interest like the law demands," said Randall Arauz, President of
PRETOMA. "This simple action will improve controls and it won't even
slow commerce in Puntarenas because there is a public dock completely
authorized to receive these vessels. The only people who would be
affected by this action are those who are taking advantage of lack of
controls in order to land shark fins, evade taxes and subsequently harm
the public interest. Halting foreign landings at private docks until
these docks are authorized is simply the only logical and effective
measure that exists."
