- The seized cargo includes sharks, fins, fish and turtles. The total quantity amounts to more than 226 units, including sharks, sailfish, marlin, dorados and bonitos, along with 602 shark fins and one turtle.
- The operation was the result of a joint mission between the Naval Air Service (SENAN), the NGO Marine Protection Alliance (MPA) and other conservation agencies.
Panama City, Panama, September 27, 2023. A quantity of more than 226 units, including sharks, sailfish, marlin, dorados, bonitos, as well as 602 shark fins and a turtle, were seized from one of the two vessels that were fishing illegally in the Cordillera de Coiba Managed Resource Area. This seizure was the result of the first joint operation between the Naval Air Service (SENAN) and the NGO Marine Protection Alliance (MPA), with the collaboration of park rangers from the Ministry of Environment (MiAMBIENTE) and officials from the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP).
This is the balance provided by the authorities of MiAMBIENTE of Chiriqui, after reviewing, weighing and cataloging the cargo found on the Colombian vessel, which was towed to the port of Pedregal in the city of David. The inter-institutional team that made the seizure was part of the crew of the SharkWater vessel, property of Marine Protection Alliance, supplied to the National Government for patrolling the Panamanian coast to prevent the commission of crimes in the national territory.
In an inter-institutional effort, two vessels were detected carrying out illegal fishing and shark finning within the limits of the Cordillera de Coiba Managed Resource Area. Eight Colombian nationals were arrested for these actions, and the Environmental Crimes Prosecutor’s Office imposed 6 months of preventive detention for the duration of the investigations.
The result of the seized pieces consisted of several species of sharks. In this case: hammerhead shark: 44 individuals; thresher shark: 109 individuals; silky shark or dogfish: 38 individuals; mahi mahi mahi: 4 individuals; bonito fish: 25 individuals; marlin fish: 1 individual; sailfish: 5 individuals. In addition, a total of 602 shark fins were counted with an estimated weight of 36.95 kilograms, and the turtle found was confirmed to be an adult male of the Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea).
At the time the vessel was discovered, most of the shark fins and bodies were in a good state of preservation, allowing experts to easily identify the species for classification. The most significant shark species seized are classified under CITES Appendix II and, according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) standards, are categorized as Critically Endangered and some as Vulnerable. They are also under Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
SENAN and the Marine Protection Alliance (MPA) continue to work together to prevent crimes against natural resources and marine life committed in protected Panamanian waters since they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2022. After months of training and preparation, this is the first joint mission carried out by both institutions since the alliance.
Since then, SENAN and MPA have prepared and trained, retrofitting MPA’s ‘Sharkwater’ vessel with specialized technology aimed at detecting and deterring IUU vessels, receiving training in various tactics and operational strategies, as well as developing intelligence systems.
Marine Protection Alliance (MPA)
Marine Protection Alliance (MPA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that protects marine areas from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and other related criminal activities by assisting and working closely with the competent authorities in the CMAR (Marine Conservation Corridor of the Eastern Tropical Pacific) region.
