Shark fins seized in Bogotá and bound for Hong Kong

Bogotá’s Environment Secretary reported the seizure of 3,493 shark fins and 117 kilos of fish swim bladders at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, “which they were packed in ten boxes and they were going to be exported illegally. ”

According to the environmental authority, “this material was mobilized in command mode by the loading dock at El Dorado international airport”.

Details of the operation indicated that “The package would have been shipped by land from Roldanillo, Valle del Cauca, to Bogotá, for then be sent by the terminal in Hong Kong (China). The shipper declared swim bladders of fish to the shipping company, but their contents were found to contain other types of species, which generated an alert for authorities. ”

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Carolina Urrutia, Secretary of the Environment, underlined that “Dijín takes samples to determine exactly which species it was “, while estimating that to obtain the said fins, “approximately 900 and 1000 sharks of different species had to be slaughtered and whose size varies between one and five meters in length, causing irreparable environmental damage to the aquatic ecosystems of the Colombian territory” .

Urrutia reminded citizens that “This behavior is illegal. These packages did not have the necessary authorizations. Of course, these seizures cause us a lot of outrage, they are most likely due to illegal fishing processes and this very high volume of shark fins causes a lot of concern. We always remind people that cases in which the exploitation of wildlife is legal require the approvals of the corresponding environmental authorities ”.

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It must be remembered that the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Authority (Aunap) issued resolution 0757 of April 19, 2021 in which “Prohibits all marketing and processing of sharks, marine rays and chimaeras in Colombia. This document was based on Decree 281 of March 18, 2021 of the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, which establishes measures for the protection and conservation of these individuals ”.

The Secretary of the Environment indicated that “the national police have requested from the parcel company all the information of the sender and the recipient to initiate the respective legal proceedings; while the District Secretary of the Environment will initiate the environmental sanction, which considering daily fines of up to five thousand statutory monthly minimum wagess, as established by Law 1333 of 2009 “.