Court No. 3 of Arrecife has issued the conviction against citizen O.B.P. as "criminally responsible for a continued crime against the flora and fauna of fishing of protected species", to the penalty of 10 months in prison and special disqualification for the right to passive suffrage during the time of the sentence, as well as special disqualification for profession or trade and special disqualification for the exercise of hunting and fishing, for a period of 16 months, and the payment of costs."
The Canarian environmental associations 'Adacis' and 'Latitud Azul' filed a complaint with the Seprona of the Civil Guard of Lanzarote in May 2023, given the illegal fishing practices that this fisherman allegedly carried out and advertised on social networks promoting captures of protected marine species as a tourist activity to fish "XXL monsters".
The judgment, issued on November 3, 2023, specifies that "on unspecified dates, but in any case in the months of April, August and September of the year 2021, the months of June and December of 2022, as well as in the month of January of 2023, the accused proceeded along different points of the coast of Playa Blanca, all belonging to the town of Yaiza, to make different catches of three species of sharks: Silky Shark (Carcharhinus falciformis), Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna sp.) and Angel Shark (Squatina squatina), whose capture is legally prohibited, as well as the capture of different species of rays: Manta ray (Gymnura altavela), Blacktip stingray (Taeniurops grabatus) and White Skate (Rostroraja alba), whose capture is also prohibited, knowing that with this he contravened the normative provisions of special protection of these species, which prohibit their capture as they are protected species and not included among those that are allowed to be captured in the modality of recreational marine fishing".
The complaining organizations positively value this Resolution because it is a sentence that, without a doubt, constitutes a legal and trust reference for the whole of Canarian society, its public institutions and social groups, to continue denouncing without fissures this type of events in all the islands when they are detected. 'Adacis' and 'Latitud Azul' consider that this sentence represents a further step in the fight against the impunity of practices in nature apparently recreational but illegal that, on a daily basis, are detected in the Canary Islands.
Undeclared fishing, unregulated fishing and fishing poaching are chronic scourges in the Canary Islands that must be fought relentlessly by exponentially increasing the resources of surveillance, sanctions and complaints by the competent administrations, and the training and awareness of technical personnel, security forces and citizens.
It is not admissible that complaints of this nature are promoted by environmental associations investing time and their own economic resources when there are competent public administrations that do not intervene for years in the face of flagrant acts of fishing openly publicized and known. Ezequiel Navío, spokesman for 'Adacis', declares that "despite this, we will continue to denounce in the courts this type of practices that are not exemplary, unsustainable, unnecessary, unfair and harmful to the marine natural environment as a whole, to protected and endangered animal species in particular and, therefore, to the Canarian population and its inescapable right to enjoy and preserve the natural values of the islands in the present and in the future". Alicia Herrera, from Latitud Azul, expresses: "From 'Latitud Azul', we will continue to ensure the preservation of the invaluable heritage of our islands, which lies in their biodiversity.
Above all, we will persist in the urgency of strengthening the protection of the most vulnerable species, carrying out an intense work of education and awareness. A well-informed and aware citizenry would never participate in acts that harm flora or fauna; on the contrary, it would become the most fervent defender of the environment."
Both organizations emphasize that "tourism and leisure activities cannot and should never be promoted through practices that destroy or degrade Canarian nature, neither at sea nor on land. Responsible and sustainable tourism must be an unconditional ally to protect and promote the protection of the extraordinary and vulnerable natural heritage of the islands." The complaining associations recognize and appreciate the formidable work and commitment of the Seprona of Lanzarote and the administration of Justice of the island in the process of denouncing the object of the sentence.
