Fin Trade
Sparks
Questions
(First in a Series)
By David Boddiger
Tico Times Staff
dboddiger@ticotimes.net

Last month, in a single night, a foreign fishing vessel reportedly landed some 30 tons of shark fins - without the carcasses attached, as required by Costa Rican fishing regulations. One month later, despite the required oversight by five government agencies, officials still have no answers as to how the ship managed to unload such a large cargo without being stopped.

A Tico Times investigation has revealed disturbing irregularities in the management, oversight and enforcement of rules guiding foreign fishing fleets landing products at Costa Rica's Pacific ports of Puntarenas and Caldera.

At 9 p.m. on May 31, Costa Rican Coast Guard officials observed the Goida Ruey No. 1, flying the Panamanian flag, unloading the enormous cargo of fins on a dock owned by Muelle de Inversiones Cruz, according to a report issued by the Costa Rican Sea Turtle Restoration Project (PRETOMA) (TT, June 13). Coast Guard officials did not intervene, alleging they did not have jurisdiction over a private dock, according to PRETOMA President Randall Arauz.

DESPITE growing concern over the multimillion-dollar business and its effect on collapsing shark populations, Latin American countries have done little to curb it. Some 200 million sharks worldwide are killed each year,their cartilage-filled fins crushed into a powder and sold as soup in Asian restaurants for $60 a bowl.

Figures from the Costa Rican Fishing Institute (INCOPESCA) show that shark fin exports totaled 818,000 kg last year,although some environmentalists have begun to question the accuracy of the INCOPESCA statistics.

According to information obtained from various government agencies, a lengthy official protocol regarding the landing of fish products by foreign vessels was not followed. Vessels entering Costa Rican waters must contact the Port Authority, under the authority of the Ministry of Public Works and Transporta-tion (MOPT), to request an "Innocent Passage" permit some 24 hours in advance, according to Jorge Mora, sub-director of MOPT's Office of Maritime and Port Security.

To facilitate the process, vessels contact private shipping agencies to act as intermediaries with government agencies.

Upon arrival in port, the ship, its contents and crew must be inspected and approved by the Port Authority Captain, the Costa Rican Institute of Pacific Ports (INCOP) or the Atlantic Port Authority (JAPDEVA), Immigration, the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG), the Ministry of Finance Office of Customs, and the Costa Rican Fishing Institute (INCOPESCA).

According to Mora, foreign vessels may dock only at authorized government docks in Puntarenas, Caldera, Coco Beach, Quepos, Golfito, Limón, Moin and Punta Morales. Yet in reality, scores of foreign fishing vessels land their cargo each week at private docks in Puntarenas.

Mora said only "authorized" private docks are allowed. Asked how many private docks are authorized, he said, "None." Yet INCOPESCA legal advisor Edwin Salazar said private docks are authorized to accept foreign fishing vessels.

Article 212 of the General Customs Law authorizes only the public docks mentioned by Mora. However, the same article said private docks could be authorized by resolution of the Customs directorate.

An April 9, 2001 circular signed by then-General Director of Customs Carlos Muñoz states that the eight public docks are "the only ones officially approved for arrival of foreign ships."

Despite this, two years ago a handful of private docks already in use were temporarily authorized to continue operating by Puerto Caldera Port Authority Captain Marvin Jaén, including the following: Bluefin, S.A., Costa Rica Yacht Club, Fertica, Mariscos Larn S.R.L., Mariscos Wang, S.A., Marina Los Sueños, Muelle de Fulvio Soto, Muelle Lostalo, Pekos, S.A., Permata, Protamar, S.A. A follow-up study and list were never completed, yet these private docks and others not on the list continue operating.

Muelle de Inversiones Cruz is not one of the temporarily authorized docks.

"I'm investigating this, because customs (officials) are saying we're conducting this study (regarding private docks) and we're not," said Jorge Hernández, director of MOPT's Office of Maritime and Port Security.

Equally troubling is the apparent lack of government oversight in the Goida Ruey No. 1 case, despite falling under the jurisdiction of five government agencies.

"We don't get involved with cargo - that's not our responsibility," Jaén told The Tico Times. The Port Captain suggested that inspecting cargo falls upon officials from Customs, MAG and INCOPESCA.

Yet officials from all the offices must sign off on the final paperwork.

"When a (foreign) fishing boat docks, officials from Immigration, MAG, the Port Captain and INCOP inspect the ship's documents, cargo and crew," said INCOP official Jorge Alvarado. Once port fees and taxes are collected, ship documents approved, and an inspection completed, the ship may begin unloading its cargo.

"No ship may unload its cargo without INCOP first completing the paperwork," he said.

Alvarado said inspectors could be summoned "at any hour on any day."

Yet Jaén said neither the ship nor its agent contacted him before landing. He blamed Coast Guard officials for failing to act.

"To say they had no jurisdiction over a private dock is not true," he said. "If they saw the ship unloading (unattached fins) they should have acted immediately. This isn't the first time this has happened."

Although charged with regulating Costa Rica's fishing industry, INCOPES-CA officials claim they are powerless to react. INCOPESCA legal advisor Edwin Salazar said the institute lacks authority to seize the fins, now that the irregularity has been widely reported. To correct the problem, Salazar called for quick passage of a fishing reform bill currently before the Legislative Assembly.

Yet no INCOPESCA officials seem to know what happened to the fins that were unloaded last month. Nor can they provide a list of authorized private docks.

Even more confusing, a June 19 note sent by the Puerto Caldera Customs Office to INCOPESCA Executive President Ligia Castro states that the Goida U Ruey No. 1 docked on May 31 at 4:45 p.m. The report says the ship, represented by private shipping agency Aduamar, S.A., unloaded 50,000 kilograms of "whole shark," 1,500 kg of tuna and 1,500 kg of marlin.

Consulted by phone about the discrepancy between the Customs report and the Coast Guard account, Maricel Quintero, head of the Customs Office's Department of External Control, said the ship's file shows it was received that day by the Port Captain, as well as officials from Immigration and MAG. Paperwork is signed by Jaén and other officials whose signatures are illegible, she said.

Although Quintero promised to provide The Tico Times with a copy of the signatures, she had not done so by press time. Repeated calls to her office went unattended, and a secretary told The Tico Times that Quintero's boss, Omar Jiménez, Director of the Caldera Customs Office, was "on vacation."

During a separate call, a different employee said that Caldera Customs Deputy Director Carlos Vargas was "drinking coffee" and was unable to answer the phone.

(Next Week: What Happened to the Fins?)