Five fishing vessels (FVs) that were once used by alleged shark fin poachers in Costa Rica continue to receive fuel subsidies from the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (Spanish acronym: INCOPESCA), a government agency under the purview of the Ministry of the Environment.
Such was the report compiled by Alvaro Sanchez of online news daily CRHoy.com, who published a confirmation by prosecutors in Puntarenas that all five fishing boats are connected with incidents in which shark fin poaching is suspected. At some point, these vessels were boarded by the National Coast Guard Service of Costa Rica or INCOPESCA officials. There is not, however, a legal mechanism in place to stop these vessels from receiving fuel subsidies from the government while the cases are investigated and tried in court.
The Costa Rica Star has previously reported on this issue, which frustrates park rangers and Coast Guard officers who patrol Cocos Island and her surrounding waters. This is an ecosystem rich in selachian biodiversity, which attracts illegal fishermen and nefarious shark finning crews. While shark fishing is not illegal in Costa Rica, Cocos Island is a protected area. Park rangers and Coast Guard officers often arrest the crews of fishing boats and seize their catch, but they don’t have the resources to confiscate their vessels, which end up becoming repeat offenders.
How the Fuel Subsidies Work
INCOPESCA’s Director Luis Dobles, who is facing an investigation for his alleged involvement in a shark finning incident in Puntarenas, has admitted that there is currently no way to legally stop these vessels from heading back to sea with subsidized fuel. This subsidy is granted to those who participate in the fishing industry of Costa Rica; in other words, INCOPESCA provides fuel in accordance to the law, which does not have provisions about what should be done when fishing boats end up being used for criminal purposes.
To some people, these fuel subsidies are a barrier to international free trade. To this end, consumers can find seafood at reasonable prices in Costa Rica, but not even these subsidies stop foreign fishermen from crowding our oceans. In fact, fishermen have even called for a moratorium on fishing by foreign fleets.
Such was the case of the FV Capitan Erson, which sunk after the United States Navy missile frigate USS Rentz took her in tow earlier this year. The Erson was boarded by members of a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment team (LEDET), who found tons of cocaine in the Erson’s fish hold. This Costa Rica-registered FV was navigating thanks to INCOPESCA’s subsidized fuel, which was granted even though the Erson was caught smuggling cocaine about a year ago.
In 2012, the FV Los Pericos and the FV Yamauke were intervened by Costa Rican maritime law enforcement officers who found evidence of shark fin poaching aboard. These two vessels are currently getting fuel subsidies from the government of Costa Rica, and in some cases their crew members are shark finning suspects who have returned to their fishing duties. Among these suspects are seven fishermen who were found with a combined 303 shark fins in recent years, as well as a Taiwanese woman who goes by the last name of Seng.
The Costa Rica Star