President Pacheco Awarded "International Shark Enemy of the Year" Defends Himself
 The international organization, Shark Project, based in Germany, has nominated Costa Rican President, Abel Pacheco, for their "International Shark Enemy of the Year" award.

A full page announcement regarding the nomination ran in Costa Rica's Spanish language daily newspaper, La Nación, on Sunday, May 15, 2005 (click here) which gave President Pacheco the distinction for ignoring the petition of more than 70.000 Costa Ricans (including 10.000 school children) who are asking for the government to comply with the prohibition of shark finning.

Pacheco in defending his position said that no one can deny his efforts to stop shark finning in Costa Rica.

"I have continued the fight. I sent a letter made public to all my Ministers to stop the atrocious act of shark finning which means cutting off the fins of the shark and then disposing of the rest of the shark in the waters', said the president.

Pacheco added that Costa Rica has a lot of bureaucracy to take the necessary actions to stop the practice. "The presidential order to stop shark finning has to make it's way through various institutions who have to study it and sign off."

Sharkpoject is based in Germany is dedicated to the protections of sharks. Their website headlines reads "If sharks die, the sea dies."

Sharkpoject is a non-for-profit organization where every member dedicates time and his own money to the cause and for the sole benefit of sharks, with special emphasis on protection, conservation and research of these misunderstood creatures.

Scientific projects mainly focus on the way too long neglected interaction between men and sharks, the core element of devastation and misunderstanding since the raise of JAWS.

Sharkpoject organizes seminars, lectures, public talks and cooperates with the media to reach the general public on a broad base. Online-news, chat lists, and productions of independent shark documentaries enhance the outreach of Sharkpoject.