This week I went with Luke & Mel to check out rumours of turtle oil being sold at Puerto San Jose.... although we didn't have any luck finding the oil the trip turned out to be an eye opener. In just one of the fish landing bays was an array of endangered and internationally protected species: numerous juvenile sharks, sub-adult sharks with their fins removed, sailfish, and we even managed to get shark finning on video. A fairly gruesome place and shocking to have an implication of how many sharks Guatemala is removing from the ocean each day, month and year without any quota. More trips are on the agenda and this is just the start of investigating the extent of shrk finning and shark fisheries in Guatemala. Watch this space and we'll keep you updated.
Juvenile sharks landed at Puerto San Jose
Sharks with their fins removed & more juveniles
Showing off the catch - a beautiful sailfish
It is the tragic issue of poor fisherman causing extinction because wealthy folks will pay for their catch.
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