Costa Rica Shark Finning – British celebrity chef “doused in petrol.”

While in Costa Rica, the famous, verbally abusive and always-in-the-news British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was allegedly “doused in petrol in a terrifying ordeal while investigating illegal fishing for a new TV series.”

Ramsay said that: “These gangs operate from places that are like forts, with barbed-wire perimeters and gun towers.”

“At one, I managed to shake off the people who were keeping us away, ran up some stairs to a rooftop and looked down to see thousands and thousands of fins, drying on rooftops as far as the eye could see.”

“When I got back downstairs they tipped a barrel of petrol over me. Then these cars with blacked out windows suddenly appeared from nowhere, trying to block us in. We dived into the car and peeled off.”

Unfortunately with the Chinese New Year fast approaching (3rd February 2011) the sale of shark fins is about to reach its annual peak

It was in 2006 the International Initiative for the Protection and Investigation of Sharks (SharkProject) nominated President Abel Pacheco as one of the candidates to be known as “Shark Enemy 2006.”

According to Steven Galster, WildAid co-director; “In Costa Rica, the shark population has declined by 80% in the past ten years, while the rate in North America is as high as 90% in the past 15 years.”

“I cannot imagine a more barbaric practise than cutting fins from a shark and then abandoning it to die.” Mark Bradshaw – UK Fisheries Minister.

Shark finning entails catching a shark, cutting of it’s dorsal fin (that triangular fin on its back that slices through the water in the standard shark-scare scenario), and discarding the rest of the shark. The wounded shark then sinks to the bottom of the sea and “either bleeds to death, or they drown, because sharks can’t swim without fins, and they need to go forward to get oxygen.”

This particularly revolting method of shark fishing, “finning” is illegal in many parts of the world. Unfortunately, even though it is strictly illegal off the coast of Costa Rica, it has been very difficult to enforce the law.

There are various estimates but shark finning is responsible for the deaths of approximately 100 million sharks last year so this is a BIG problem – for the sharks and supposedly there are 120 boats from Taiwan that are engaged in “finning” sharks off the coast of Central America, including Costa Rica and Mexico.

Believe it or not, even Disneyland was going to serve shark fin soup at one time!

Marine conservationist Brian Darvell caused an international outcry earlier this month when he sent a letter to Disney’s US-based chief executive, Michael Eisner, strongly objecting to the theme park’s decision to serve shark’s fin soup for wedding banquets when it opens Hong Kong Disneyland in September.

Thankfully Disneyland in Hong Kong later announced that they would not be serving this controversial dish.

According to Carlos Fuentes Bolaños, Profesor, School of Health Technology in Costa Rica: “… officially we exported 533 tons of shark fins in 2003, a figure which is incomplete given that we have no record of the fins landed by foreign vessels in clandestine operations at unauthorized docks. Imagine the number of sharks you need to kill just to arrive at 533 tons of fins.”

And for you ‘Jaws’ fans out there… Did you know that sharks are one of the oldest creatures on Earth? They have dominated the oceans for more than 400 million years. “In fact it is more dangerous to play golf than to swim in the ocean with sharks. More golfers are struck by lightning and killed each year than the total number of shark fatalities.”

“Human beings are skilled at justification. Every year humans slaughter over 100 million sharks (according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) yet we depict them as vicious and blood-thirsty killers.” And “…and many populations may face extinction.”

Many fish take only a couple of years to reach maturity but; “sharks take many years to reach maturity. There are about 400 species of sharks and some may not begin to reproduce until they are over 15 years old.”

We have more in common with them than you thought eh?

That’s 100,000,000 sharks killed to take their fins which make up about 4 – 7% of their body weight… And some experts believe “that’s just half the total, because another half is unreported.”

Why?

Because even though the fin itself has no taste and little nutritional value, they are considered a delicacy in parts of East Asia and with the increase in economic prosperity in Asian countries, the demand for shark fins has skyrocketed.

“Hong Kong is the largest entry point in the world for illegally obtained shark fins” said Captain Paul Watson, president and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

“The shops carry an inventory ranging from tiny fins from baby sharks to rare and expensive tiger shark fins that sells for HK$8,000 (approximately US$1,020.00) per kilo.”

Why Should You Care?

Sharks are both predators and scavengers, and the roles they play contribute to eliminating diseased and genetically-defective animals and help stabilize fish populations.

Life in our oceans has been seriously disrupted. With shark populations reduced from 70% in some species to up to 95% in other species, the consequences are extremely serious.

For example some lobster fisheries have collapsed because “removing sharks will increase octopus populations resulting in greater predation on lobsters by octopus.”

And the way that the sharks are caught is also needlessly killing many, many other species including; “Leatherback turtles, the largest turtles in the world, will be extinct within a few decades if current fishing practices continue.”

How Do They Catch So Many Sharks?

It’s called a longline, and is “a fishing line usually made of monofilament.” “Longlines ranging from one mile in length to over one hundred miles in length are baited with fish, (often illegally killed dolphins or seals), and are meant to target shark, swordfish, and tuna.”

“Albatrosses and other seabird species are caught and dragged underwater to their deaths on these deadly, baited hooks as they are launched from the ships.”

What Can You Do?

In the past I have donated online to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and would like to encourage you to do the same. You can make a tax deductible donation and become a member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, (a registered 501C3 charity). You could also help support by buying one of their “Stop Shark Finning” T-shirts.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society also protested passionately against Disneyland’s plans to serve sharkfin soup, in March 2002, the Sea Shepherd crew confiscated an illegally set 30km (18.6 mile) line in the Pacific territorial waters of Guatemala with the permission of the Guatemalan government. In April 2002, Sea Shepherd crew confiscated numerous lines from the Marine Sanctuary of Cocos Island in cooperation with Costa Rican park rangers.

Or, Visit PRETOMA (Programa Restauración de Tortugas Marinas) is a Costa Rican non-profit, non-governmental, marine conservation organization that works to promote sustainable fisheries and protect sea turtles, sharks and marine biodiversity. PRETOMA is a member of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals).

Written by Scott Oliver, author of 1: How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa, 2: Costa Rica Real Estate Scams & How To Avoid Them, 3. Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore and 4. ¿Cómo Comprar Bienes Raices en Costa Rica, Sin Perder Su Camisa?

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.