Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




WATER WORLD
Costa Rica tightens ban on shark fins
by Staff Writers
San Jose (AFP) Oct 11, 2012


Costa Rica has banned the import of shark fins, closing a legal loophole and targeting a link in a global production chain stretching to Asian markets, where shark fin soup is seen as a delicacy.

Environmental groups have long campaigned against shark finning, in which the fins are chopped off living sharks that are then dumped back into the water and left to die.

Shark finning "is a practice that Costa Rica does not accept and we want to send a clear signal about our opposition to these types of activities," President Laura Chinchilla said Wednesday at a coastal national park.

Costa Rica has long banned the practice, but the latest move closes a loophole that had allowed for the import of shark fins, which were brought in from neighboring Nicaragua before being shipped on to Asia.

About 73 million sharks are killed every year, with Hong Kong importing about 10,000 tonnes annually for the past decade, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Most of that is re-exported to mainland China.

The number of threatened species has soared from 15 in 1996 to more than 180 in 2010, mainly due to the growing Chinese demand for fins.

Shark fin soup is viewed by many Asians as a rare delicacy and is traditionally served at wedding parties and business banquets in Hong Kong, which handles around 50 percent of the global fin trade.

.


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WATER WORLD
EU lays out 'blue economy' agenda
Limassol, Cyprus (UPI) Oct 10, 2012
The European Union this week adopted a new "blue economy" agenda aimed at creating jobs in ocean renewable energy and other maritime sectors. The European Commission and council of European maritime policy ministers Monday approved an update of the 5-year-old Integrated Maritime Policy that lays out an aggressive economic growth agenda aimed at tapping Europe's sea and ocean resources. ... read more


WATER WORLD
China has no timetable for manned moon landing

Senior scientist discusses China's lunar orbiter challenges

NASA sees 'gateway' for space missions

Protection for Moon, Mars astronauts eyed

WATER WORLD
Curiosity Update: Object Likely Benign Plastic from Curiosity Rover

First Scoopful A Success

Checking a Bright Object on the Ground

China to collect samples from Mars by 2030: Xinhua

WATER WORLD
Grants help scientists explore boundary between science and science fiction

Dead stars could be cosmic 'GPS'

Dead stars could be the future of spacecraft navigation

Interstellar Travelers of the Future May be Helped by MU Physicist's Calculations

WATER WORLD
ChangE-2 Mission To Lagrange L2 Point

Meeting of heads of ESA and China Manned Space Agency

China Spacesat gets 18-million-USD gov't support

Tiangong Orbit Change Signals Likely Date for Shenzhou 10

WATER WORLD
Station Crew Opens Dragon Hatch

NASA and International Partners Approve Year Long ISS Stay

Year on ISS planned ahead of manned Mars mission

NASA Celebrates Milestone Liftoff

WATER WORLD
SpaceX Dragon Successfully Attaches To Space Station

Another Ariane 5 Enters Launch Campaign Queue

SpaceX capsule links up with space station: NASA

Assembled and poised for launch: Soyuz is ready with its two Galileo navigation satellites

WATER WORLD
Candels Team Discovers Dusty Galaxies At Ancient Epoch With Hubble Space Telescope

Large water reservoirs at the dawn of stellar birth

Comet crystals found in a nearby planetary system

The Magnetic Wakes of Pulsar Planets

WATER WORLD
Boeing to Build 702HP Communications Satellite for SES

Rovsing And SSBV Merge Satellite Simulation And Test Services

TACLANE-MultiBook Delivers Classified and Unclassified Information for Government and Agency Workers

Photonic gels are colorful sensors




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement