SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (5 Feb 2002) -- A strong and clear message was sent to illegal fishing boats that might consider operating in Costa Rica's waters: stay out, or pay the consequences. In a landmark ruling last Friday, the Trial Board of Puntarenas imposed severe penalties on the captain and owners of the Ecuadorian mother ship convicted of illegal fishing in the marine protected waters of Cocos Island National Park, located 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The boats were targeting sharks using long lines, a fishing method known to also hook and drown turtles, rays and sea birds. The Trial Board ordered confiscation of the vessel "San Jose I," a US$300,000 fine against the owners, and a three-year jail term against the captain (who will be allowed to return to Ecuador in lieu of jail time in Costa Rica). The ship and seven of its tenders - small boats that were supplying the main vessel - were first apprehended on August 21, 2001 by a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship the "Ocean Warrior," captained by Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson. "The National Park asked us for help because their boats are too small to go up against the poachers' main ships," said Watson. "They were caught in the act. As we boarded the last boat, the fishermen were throwing hammerheads overboard." Shark fins can sell for more than US$30 a pound at the dock in Asian markets. The largest uninhabited island in the world, Cocos Island was declared a World Heritage Site four years ago due to its importance for large deep sea species such as sharks, manta rays and whales. Cocos Island is unique in the world as a habitat for marine species where breeding, birth, growth, and feeding takes place. The area lies in the migratory path of the endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtle, and contains critical habitat for unique coral species and a diversity of marine life. Commander Claudio Pacheco, director of the National Coast Guard Service, said of the ruling Friday, "This is an extraordinary precedent that confirms our commitment towards the protection of our country's marine resources." "Up to now, there has been very little enforcement of fishing rules in marine protected areas in Costa Rica, a problem common to marine protected areas worldwide," said Randall Arauz, Central American director of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project. "This is a victory for the ocean," Arauz said happily Friday, "and for the critically endangered leatherback sea turtles, which are often caught and drowned in longline vessels fishing for swordfish, and all marine life. I commend the Costa Rican Courts." | | BUSTED! San Jose I shark poachers under armed guard off Cocos Island. The confiscated vessel is being turned over to the Ministry of Public Security for conversion to enforcement duties in the Cocos Island National Park, ironically protecting the area from the very type of illegal fishing activities that led to its capture. Costa Rica declared the island a national park in 1978. Jacques Yves Cousteau visited the Island in 1986 and supported an international campaign that, in 1997, resulted in the island being declared a UNECSO World Heritage Site. Todd Steiner, executive director of the Turtle Island Restoration Network, based in San Francisco, said, "This is the exact kind of action the international community was looking for from the Costa Rican government. This sends a strong message to the world's fishing fleets that the days of illegal fishing without fear of prosecution are over." "Just imagine 20 poachers fishing in a small bay…that is exactly what has occurred every day of the month of October [2001] in Cocos' Chatham Bay, fundamental breeding grounds for pelagic species. Each poacher vessel has six fishermen, who produce a daily average of one garbage bag of waste. Each engine loses one liter of oil daily, due to the precarious condition of their boats." If each poacher averages 10 sharks per day, that would mean 6,000 sharks were killed in the month of October alone. At this pace, in just a few weeks, the damage will be irreversible. During the month of October, "Chatham Bay received 3,600 fishermen, who don't pay for their visit to the island, and leave behind 600 bags of waste and spill 600 liters of oil within the marine reserve. These numbers speak for themselves." "The proper care of marine resources is one of the most complicated problems that modern societies are currently facing," said Dr. Jack Frazier, a scientist with the Smithsonian Institution. "The government of Costa Rica had to show its commitment to the world, otherwise illegal fishing activities and their devastating effects would continue." |
