sea shepard

[Guest guest]

SEA SHEPHERD ACTION ALERT

 

The Ecuadorian long liner " San Jose, "

after being caught by Sea Shepherd's

flagship Ocean Warrior long-lining

sharks inside the waters of Cocos

Island National Park on August 20,

is now being held at the Costa Rican

port city of Puntarenas. She was caught

red-handed, along with her fishing

tenders, hauling in sharks six miles

inside the protected zone that extends

for 14 miles around the island.

 

What the Ocean Warrior's crew saw upon

boarding the San Jose and her feeder

boats was an ecological horror show:

 

Endangered sea turtles impaled on hooks,

hammerhead sharks with their eye-stalks

hacked off, drowned dolphins on 30

miles of long line, and more.

 

Cocos Island is a national treasure and

a World Heritage Site. A volcanic island

that supports one of the most diverse

populations of marine wildlife in the

Pacific- over 300 species - it is

something of a last stand for fish of

a size and variety that could once be

found across all the oceans of the world.

 

For the sake of this irreplaceable

miracle of biodiversity, the government

of Costa Rica MUST send a message to all

commercial vessels now targeting Cocos,

and to all would-be poachers pondering

a future pay-day. Costa Rica MUST make

an example of the San Jose.

 

U.S. citizens: Please contact the

honorable ambassador of Costa Rica and

CONGRATULATE his country for having been

excellent stewards of Cocos Island, and

for taking action with the Sea Shepherd

Conservation Society to ensure its

ongoing protection. Express your

urgent concern and confidence that

Costa Rica will act swiftly in

prosecuting the owners, officers

and crew of the San Jose and her

tenders to the full extent of the

law.

 

Ask for Ambassador Daremblum's

assurance that Costa Rica will keep

the recent promise of Environment

Minister Elizabeth Odio that strict

sanctions would be meted out to

anyone caught fishing illegally at

Cocos.

 

CONTACT:

 

Ambassador Jaime Daremblum

Embassy of Costa Rica

2114 S Street NW

Washington DC 20008

Ph. 202 234-2945

Fax. 202 265-4795

 

embassy