14 DAY TRIAL // Green group Sea Shepherd has recently announced the completion of an anti-poaching mission in Guatemalan waters. According to the organization, the mission was a successful one, meaning that during it, several poaching activities were halted.
On its website, Sea Shepherd details that, as part of this mission, one of its vessels, i.e. The Brigitte Bardot, traveled to Guatemala.
The ship spent a nearly one month in this part of the world, during which it worked closely with the crew aboard vessels belonging to Guatemala's Navy and Department of Fisheries.
The organization's ship, together with the Guatemala Navy and Department of Fisheries vessels, patrolled local waters for three weeks in a row, and kept an eye open for poaching activities.
“These patrols were arranged based on a prior agreement between Sea Shepherd Global and Guatemalan authorities, in accordance with Guatemalan legislation,” Sea Shepherd writes.
“On each patrol, through the use of intelligence, the Sea Shepherd crew and Guatemalan officials were able to locate and halt poaching operations,” it further details.
The organization details that, of the fishing boats that were inspected during this mission, one was found to have nearly one ton of sharks aboard.
Apart from the fact that it had no paper of permits allowing it to fish in Guatemalan water, this boat employed an underage crew member. Due to these irregularities, the ship was escorted back to port, and its operators fined.
Interestingly enough, it would appear that some of the boats fined during the first patrols carried out by Sea Shepherd and Guatemalan authorities were once again found to be fishing without a permit in these waters just days after their first run-in with the law.
Sea Shepherd says that, if poaching is to be put an end to in these waters sooner rather than later, perhaps it might not be such a bad idea to enforce stricter punishments.
Commenting on the successful completion of this anti-poaching mission in Guatemala, Sea Shepherd Global Executive Director Alex Cornelissen stated as follows:
“Sea Shepherd is proud to have assisted Guatemalan officials, providing our vessel and dedicated crew to carry out these patrols.”
Furthermore, “The greed of poachers is bleeding the oceans dry around the world, but we have been able to show here in Guatemala that what is needed to stop poachers is for governments and organizations like Sea Shepherd to join together to take direct action in defense of these at-risk marine environments.”