Hong Kong needs to step up checks on shark fin trade after Costa Rica shipments slip under radar
Activists say shipments are slipping under the radar and Hong Kong needs to step up enforcement
On a sunny mid-December day in Costa Rica's capital city San Jose, a 411kg stock of dried shark fins sits inconspicuously in a cargo bay at Juan Santamaria International Airport, ready to be flown across the globe.
The sun-dried, possibly salted fins had just months earlier been attached to the spines of hundreds of hammerhead sharks swimming in the tropical waters off the Central American nation before succumbing to the long-line or gillnet. They were netted finally by Puntarenas-based exporter Inversiones Cruz S.A.
In just a few days and after a stopover in the United States city of Miami, the US$52,857 cargo arrived at the ground floor entrance of Yue Hing Shark's Fin and Marine Products on Des Voeux Road West in Sheung Wan.
The shipment of hammerhead fins to Hong Kong - the world's biggest shark fin trading hub - may have slipped under the radar, but this single shipment has since sparked a furore across Costa Rica, which has long prided itself on its progressive environment and conservation policies.
At least one San Jose-based activist is calling on the Hong Kong government to issue a "formal protest" against the Costa Rican government.