Costa Rica and shark finning, shark finning and Costa Rica... whenever someone mentions shark finning, Costa Rica's name is not far behind... that is NOT a good thing in case you don't know.
Shark finning is back in the NEWS. And guess what? It hasn't changed a bit. Laws to protect against shark finning get circumvented or ignored by the powers that be and believe me, it's definitely a calculated move by the Costa Rican government. Obviously it's about the money and keeping the Asians HAPPY. I mean, they built us a stadium, gave us police cars, bikes, soccer balls, surely they can continue to cut the fins off helpless sharks in order to continue their fucked up tradition of eating shark fin soup. Seems pretty quid pro quo. The irony, shark fin soup tastes like 'nothing'. So thousands of sharks die for 'nothing'.
Of all our videos, I wish this one had the most HITS. It's one of the first videos we ever did, I got a chance to talk to Randall Arauz, President of Pretoma, the folks that help the sharks and sea turtles. It explains the situation fairly succinctly. Please help get the WORD out, embed this video where ever you can. The sharks will thank you for it.
ALL the info in this video is still pertinent... unfortunately.
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"The cruel practice of 'shark finning' is threatening Costa Rica’s eco-friendly image", said Ethical Traveler, one of the organizations trying to alter the practice of shark finning in Costa Rica.
Don't know what shark finning IS? This is a pretty good description:
Shark finning is the act of chopping the fins off of live sharks and dumping the then-helpless sharks back into the sea to drown. The fins are exported to Asia where they are used in an expensive delicacy: shark fin soup—or as journalist John Platt calls it, “Extinction in a Bowl.”
Fuckin' Asian tradition.
Oh, and the IMPACT of shark finning:
A 2007 study published by Science magazine showed a 90-percent decline in global shark populations in recent decades.
Here's the GOOD NEWS as reported in AM Costa Rica just yesterday:
"EthicalTraveler.org has partnered with nonprofit groups MissionBlue.org and Costa Rica’s Pretoma.org to stop shark finning in the Central American nation. In April, Pretoma founder Randall Arauz received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Award for his work to pass a Costa Rican law requiring that sharks be “landed” with their fins attached — a major victory for the sharks. But the work is not finished, said Ethical Traveler."
And as this article pointed out, my HERO, Randall Arauz, received the 'Goldman Environmental Award' a few months back and it's always nice to see worthy folks getting recognized for their efforts, especially when they speak up for those who have no VOICE.
Shark finning is a HUGE problem, and especially here in Costa Rica and especially, especially in Puntarenas, where the Taiwanese and CHINESE influence in Costa Rica is growing. Ironically, Costa Rica has some of the BEST laws on the BOOKS in regards to shark finning and longline fishing but like many laws here, ENFORCEMENT is a totally different matter. Money talks....especially when they, (the Chinese) build you a SOCCER STADIUM.
I was fortunate enough to sit down and interview Randall Arauz a couple years ago, matter of fact, one of the FIRST videos we ever did, which I POST whenever I get the CHANCE. Tell your friends, EMBED this video, re-TWEET this post, Facebook it, DIGG it, Link-it, do whatever it takes to get the word out about shark finning, longline fishing etc. It’s really the LEAST we could do.
Without further ado:
There's a wealth of information out there, so get educated and REMEMBER this isn't just about SHARKS, it's much BIGGER than that, this is about the food chain, the Circle of Life and how it affects us ALL.
Seriously, how bad does it have to get BEFORE we do something?
TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!
Plight of the Sea Turtles- does Costa Rica give a F***?
Time and time again Costa Rica has shown it CANNOT Police itself and would rather wait until their hand is caught in the cookie jar… before actually enforcing their OWN laws to correct the problem. In this case- shrimp trawling and its effects on sea turtles. The United States stepped in and played the role of ‘Mother’- how embarrassing for Costa Rica… or is it? Here’s the latest:
“The United States decertified Costa Rica as a turtle friendly country (again) May 1. Margaret F. Hayes, acting deputy assistant secretary for oceans and fisheries for the United States, said that Costa Rican officials did not comply with their promise to take steps to sanction shrimp fishermen who do not use turtle excluder devices.”
The Punishment: The United States will not import Costa Rica shrimp for at least the next year. This is the 4th time since 1999 Costa Rica has been caught not enforcing their own laws- again, embarrassing, but VERY telling.
This is how it went down:
"In meetings with senior Costa Rican fisheries officials during the December 2008 certification visit, the State Department representative stressed that without rapid remedial action Costa Rica's certification might be compromised," she added. "Costa Rican officials were aware of the issue and promised to resolve it early in 2009. However, the United States Embassy in San Jose reports that since that December visit Costa Rican authorities have not taken all the action they promised."
*Before I continue I just want to SHOUT OUT to Randall Arauz and the folks at Pretoma (the organization for the preservation of sea turtles and sharks ) who I KNOW were instrumental in seeing this through. Keep up the GREAT work (it takes a village). BTW- they could really use your HELP, visit the link and find out how you can support Pretoma and help preserve the marine life that live off the waters of Costa Rica.
The remedy seems quite simple- Shrimp fishermen need to use turtle excluder devices, which are like trap doors built into shrimp trawl nets that let trapped turtles swim away… and for the ones that don’t use the device- LAWS need to be enforced. So, what’s the problem?
'You mention COST... you have no IDEA.'
Let’s BREAK this down: This is the 4th time in ten years Costa Rica has been caught not enforcing their own laws by the United States… again. HELLOOOOOOOOO.
The Costa Rican powers that be know what they’re doing, they can’t be this stupid, so I call, “BULLSHIT”. I’m thinking the Costa Rican government doesn’t really CARE what the United States does- the non-enforcement of these LAWS must be WORTH it on some LEVEL- there’s no other explanation. Think about it, if you knew for a FACT you were getting a supposed ‘severe’ consequence for your actions (because you’d gotten 3 previously), would you change your behavior? You’d be STUPID not too…unless the consequence didn’t really affect you as it was intended. And really, they KNOW and KNEW ‘Mother’ and the folks at Pretoma were watching them. They KNEW they’d be caught AGAIN. The consequence of not importing shrimp from Costa Rica must not be severe enough-
I say Follow the Money, it's BIGGER somewhere else.
It’s like giving a kid a consequence of, “No fruitcake for a week”- but the kid doesn’t like fruitcake to begin with. Something's amiss.
Randall Arauz told me the powers that BE in Costa Rica often attempt to circumvent their OWN laws in order to keep the money FLOWING into Costa Rica (he was talking about the practice of SHARK FINNING as it pertains to the relationship between Costa Rica and the Taiwanese government). I guarantee this is much BIGGER and more political than turtles and sharks.
Money is always the bottom line. Here’s a breakdown of the so-called LOSSES to Costa Rica:
‘Costa Rica has exported at least 20,000 pounds of premium shrimp a month to the United States. That is shrimp with a retail price of nearly $200,000, according to news files.’
I guess I’m jaded, but that just doesn’t seem like a high number to me in the realm of things.
And I hate to complicate things and throw a wrench in the spokes, but seriously, this entire story could be BULLSHIT. Even the United States could be in on it… it’s not like manipulating a ‘situation’ for a variety of reasons is foreign to our neighbor to the north…. just sayin.
Bottom Line:
Costa Rica doesn't seem to mind a little 'egg on their face' because obviously in the long term, 'someone' or 'something' is getting MORE than they're LOSING.... and egg wipes off.
Because if not, that would mean Costa Rica is STUPID…
Costa Rica isn’t STUPID are THEY?
I know I posted this a few days ago, but personally, if ONLY 1 more person sees this who hasn't already, then it's worth it, and that '1' just may be the DIFFERENCE. My Interview with the president of Pretoma, Randall Arauz:
Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!
'Shark Finning, Shrimp Trawling, Longline Fishing- when will the SHARKS and SEA TURTLES catch a BREAK!'
Although I had eaten shark-fin soup,(IGNORANCE wasn't even tasty), before moving to Costa Rica I really didn’t know much about shark finning, longline fishing, and the plight of the sea turtles and how it related and affected the overall 'Circle of Life'. I have since been educated that this is not VEGAS- so what happens in the OCEANS around the WORLD affect EVERYTHING and EVERYONE… and unless something is DONE, this ‘Circle’ may become a VERY sad game of connect the dots in the very near future.
We NEED to WAKE UP... NOW!!
Shark finning in particular is a HUGE problem, and especially here in Costa Rica and especially, especially in Puntarenas, where the Taiwanese influence in Costa Rica is growing. Ironically, Costa Rica has some of the BEST laws on the BOOKS in regards to shark finning and longline fishing but like many laws here, ENFORCEMENT is a totally different matter. Money talks....
My hope is to get the WORD out. I had a chance to sit down with the 'Anti-Shark Finning, Sea Turtle Preservation People', PRETOMA, and speak with its president, Randall Arauz. If you have any questions concerning the Who, Why, What, Where and How of Shark-Finning, this is the video for YOU.
Tell your friends, EMBED this video, re-TWEET this post, Facebook it, DIGG it, Link-it, do whatever it takes to get the word out about shark finning, longline fishing, and of course, the plight of the sea turtles. It’s really the LEAST we could do. Without further ado:
There's a wealth of information out there, so get educated and REMEMBER this isn't just about SHARKS, it's much BIGGER than that, this is about the food chain, the Circle of Life and how it affects us ALL.
FYI= there ARE organizations doing some GREAT work in the preservation of sea turtles along with the never ending battle of educating, informing, policing, (and in Costa Rica's case, taking them to court), the PUBLIC at large in regards to the practices/abuses/consequences of shark finning, shrimp trawling and longline fishing.
Maybe it's TIME 'YOU' made a DIFFERENCE- like I said, "Money TALKS."
Hey Everyone, we got TONS of Costa Rica Travel Information in our Travel Guide at Travel Costa Rica NOW and don't FORGET all our Costa Rica Travel Tip Videos, completely ORGANIZED so you can EASILY find what you're LOOKING for. ENjOY!
Working with the Costa Rica Travel Channel and Travel Costa Rica Now, I have the opportunity to travel around Costa Rica and meet some truly remarkable people- often the one’s making a difference. Randall Arauz is one such person. Randall is president of PRETOMA, an organization whose mission is to protect and restore populations of marine turtles, sharks, and other threatened marine fauna, with a vision of responsible fishing and communal based conservation.
I got a chance to sit down and talk with Randall. Check out this video. Great Info. The mouth/sound combination is a 'tad' off, but nothing too annoying. Besides, this video is worth it.
If you're looking for a cause, this may be the ONE and they could use ALL the help they can get. I'm sure the sharks would thank you.
Gringo price me, tico time me, pass me on a curve, lose my paperwork, shake me down for money.... but STOP the shark finning DAMN IT!
Obviously it's about the money and keeping the Asians HAPPY. I mean, they built us a stadium, gave us police cars, bikes, soccer balls, surely they can continue to cut the fins off helpless sharks in order to continue their fucked up tradition of eating shark fin soup. Seems pretty quid pro quo. The irony, shark fin soup tastes like 'nothing'. So thousands of sharks die for 'nothing'.
