Costa Rica Court Sentences Businesswoman for Illegal Shark Finning
Dead sharks at a fish market.
iStock/Aleksandar Kamasi
Puntarenas, Costa Rica — A Costa Rican trial court has delivered a historic sentence, and for the first time brought criminal charges for the illegal practice of shark finning and sentenced a Taiwanese businesswoman for the crime. The Public Prosecutor’s indictment was supported by organizations that argued her actions violated national and international laws protecting marine life.
On February 7, the Trial Court of Puntarenas imposed a six-month prison sentence on the Taiwanese businesswoman for illegally trading in shark fins. The woman had brought to port shark fins detached from the animals' bodies. She had intended to sell the fins in Asia, where they are often used in soups.
The businesswoman, identified by her last name of Tseng, was ordered to spend six months behind bars. The verdict was handed down by the court in Costa Rica's western port city of Puntarenas.
The case began in October 2011, when the fishing boat, Wan Jia Men 88, was found with 151 sharks aboard. Their fins had been chopped off.
Tseng was initially acquitted in 2014, but the court’s decision was appealed, and the Puntarenas court found her responsible for damage to Costa Rica's natural resources.
Dried shark fins on a fishing pier.
iStock/George Frandsen
“We are pleased that, from the power of the Judiciary, Costa Rica has sent a clear signal that its priority is to protect the country’s sustainability. The response to the finning was appropriate, and responsible fishermen and environmental authorities will applaud it as such. At Conservation International, we reiterate our commitment to sustainable fisheries, transparent management of marine resources, and control of the country’s environmental regulations,” said Marco Quesada, director of the Costa Rica Program of Conservation International (CI).
The court determined that the businesswoman is responsible “for the crime of ordering the removal of the shark fin without the respective body, to the detriment of the natural resources” of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica, known for its underwater biodiversity, has ratified several treaties for the protection and sustainable use of marine resources.
Fins from freshly slaughtered sharks.
iStock/lonelytravel
“This is a truly historic sentence, as it’s the first time there has been a criminal conviction for shark finning. We applaud the efforts of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to enforce the national laws and international commitments of Costa Rica. We hope this case will be a precedent that helps prevent this practice from happening again,” said Gladys Martínez, attorney with the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA).
About AIDA
Founded in 1998, AIDA is a nonprofit environmental law organization that works across international borders to defend threatened ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them. Environmental health and human rights can no longer be protected by working within the political boundaries of individual nations: the 35 countries of our hemisphere are united under a common environmental flag. International problems call for international responses, and AIDA develops transnational strategies to address the environmental and human rights challenges of the 21st century.