The animals, silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis) and foxes (Alopias superciliosus and A. vulpinus), are at risk, due to their indiscriminate hunting generated by the demand for their fins, in international trade.
Ratifying the commitment to the protection of natural resources in the Colombian Pacific, Coast Guard Units of the Colombian Navy, in maritime control and security operations, intercepted a foreign ship manned by four individuals, at the time they were carrying out illegal fishing for silky sharks, marlin fish and goldfish, without having the permits of the maritime authority to carry out this activity in national waters.
The operation was reported when a Rapid Reaction Unit of the Tumaco Coast Guard Station and the ARC ship Punta Ardita were able to accurately identify a flipper boat named El regreso de pajarito, which was traveling suspiciously late at night, approximately 120 nautical miles off the Nariño coast.
Immediately, Colombian Navy units deployed a maritime interdiction operation, in which the individuals aboard the boat repeatedly ignored calls made by members of the Military Forces. Finally, after several minutes of pursuit, the boat was stopped.
At the time of the inspection, eleven goldfish, one marlin and seven silky sharks were found by troops, these last animals are protected by the Colombian State; 180 kilograms of illegal fishing were found. It should be noted that the hunting of the varieties found by authorities will considerably hit their reproduction and development, since that puts them in danger of extinction.
Complying with all the measures of the sanitary protocol, the units transported the boat along with the four people to the dock of the Coast Guard Station of Tumaco. The animals were put into custody of the Corporación Autónoma Regional de Nariño-Corponariño, who determined that four sharks are juvenile specimens, two were medium-sized and one was an adult.
The four foreigners were arrested and brought before the Attorney General's Office, where they will be prosecuted for the crimes of border violation and illegal fishing.
