Costa Rican delegate comments on shark massacre in Colombia
Costa Rica rejects shark massacre in Malpelo waters
By Natalie Dalto, Colombia Reports,
20. October 2011
A delegate of the Costa Rican government arrived in Cartagena Thursday and stated that the country disapproves of the Malpelo shark massacre in Colombian waters, Noticias Uno reported (see video below).
Arturo Navarro, arrived in the coastal Colombian city as Costa Rica’s representative to the Basel Convention, whose participants seek to minimize and prevent their respective country’s creation of hazardous waste.
At the convention the Costa Rican official informally stated that the country disapproved of fishing invasion that occurred last week in Colombian waters (see here) that carried out the mutilation and massacre of at least 2,000 sharks.
Navarro said that in a few days, via diplomatic channels, President Chinchilla or the Ministry of the Exterior would be making an official response to the natural and environmental crisis.
The sharks were killed in the Colombian Pacific just off Malpelo Island, which has been declared a sanctuary of flora and fauna on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The presidential adviser for biodiversity, Sandra Bessudo, explained that Costa Rican boats were setting out with lines laid with over a thousand hooks for around ten days, after which their catch was reportedly around 200 or 300 animals.
Source: Colombia Reports, Noticias Uno (video).