The Costa Rican Coast Guard arrested four fishermen and a fishmonger Monday morning for illegal fishing and sale of endangered species, respectively, according to a report issued by the Public Security Ministry.
Coast Guard agents boarded the fishing vessel “El Dorado” Monday morning off the coast of Las Baulas, near Flamingo, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, the report said. The boat contained more than 60 kilograms of cabrilla, a protected species. The Coast Guard seized the illegal fish and arrested the four men on board who had the last names Hernández, Mata, Acuña and Palacios, who is the captain of the ship, according to the ministry report.
Also on Monday morning, Coast Guard agents arrested a fishmonger in Golfito in the Southern Zone on the Golfo Dulce. The man, who has a last name of Beita, was arrested for the sale of an endangered species, according to the report, when the agents found 230 kg of sailfish in his fish shop.
The suspects were turned over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the cabrilla was donated to local schools.
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