3,493 shark fins seized at El Dorado airport for export to Hong Kong

In recent hours, Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Environmental and Ecological Police reported that amid an examination of a cargo arriving at El Dorado airport to be sent to Hong Kong , 3,493 shark fins and 117 kilograms of fish swim bladders were found.

“In the last few hours those shark fins and fish bladders that came from Valle del Cauca have been seized, and their final destination was Hong Kong, they came alone in a package, it is precisely the parcel company that initially alerted the authorities, ”said Environment Secretary Carolina Urrutia.

This illegal shipment was seized by the authorities and it was established that it was going to be exported illegally to the Chinese city, where it appears that they are used for the preparation of traditional dishes, in ten packages under the order form by the loading dock airport located in Bogota Similarly, the entity pointed out that the fins and the bladders were sent by land to the capital from Roldanillo, in the Valle del Cauca.

“The sender declared the swim bladders of the fish in front of the transport company, but It was found that in its content there were other types of species, which generated an alert for the authorities“Reads the press release from the Ministry of the Environment. And they added that “these plots did not have the necessary authorizations. Of course, these crises cause us a lot of indignation, most likely They come from illegal fishing processes and this very high volume of shark fins is of great concern to us.”.

The authorities also indicated that, regarding the owner of the said encomienda, they learned that its license for the national exploitation of the fishery resource was until 2020, that is, it was expired. They explained that “the said authorization was only intended to market and mobilize in the territory and not to take advantage of hydrobiological resources (shark), let alone export. These last behaviors will be an aggravating factor for the administrative and legal procedures which will be carried out by the competent authorities ”.

Entity calculations are tedious, since it is estimated that to extract more than three thousand fins between 900 and 1,000 sharks of different species and sizes must have been slaughtered, which can be anywhere from one to five meters in length. The secretariat said that “the Dijins were taking samples to determine exactly which species it was.”

Precisely, when the authorities received the alert for this shipment, officials from the Djín Laboratory for forensic genetic identification of wild species arrived to take the respective samples of the material seized and thus identify the main points of origin of the animals. .

Recall that in Colombia, since April of this year the “marketing and processing of stingrays, stingrays and chimaeras” was prohibited, This was done by resolution 0757, issued by the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Authority (AUNAP), which was also present at the site.

The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Carlos Eduardo Correa, spoke out against this seizure, rejecting the owner’s behavior and stressing that the full weight of the law will fall on him. “I strongly reject the illegal trade in sharks, species vital to the health of the oceans. Law 2111 of 2021, relating to environmental crimes, qualifies trafficking in wildlife as an offense punishable by a prison sentence of 60 to 135 months. The export or marketing of shark fins is an aggravating factor that increases the penalty from a third to a halfThe government official said.

Sharks, as pointed out by the Minister of the Environment, They are animals of great ecological importance to the health of the oceans, and although they are considered among the most dangerous animals, the reality is that they are very vulnerable to illegal fishing and trade.. Correa pointed out that the national government’s control mechanisms and sanctions against those who commit crimes against wild flora and non-timber forest products are being strengthened.

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