On October 25, the national government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, issued Resolution 0350, which establishes the global fishing quotas for different species for the Colombian territory in the year 2020 within which the fishing of shark, which according to the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is classified as vulnerable. Although it is a great step in the establishment of national policies, since in previous years only fishing quotas were established for the Colombian island area (San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina), it can be considered rushed and lacking scientific knowledge. Finally, the inability to protect, administer and control the resource evidences the maritime legal weakness of Colombia.
In order to establish fishing quotas, scientific evidence and historical data are required to clearly establish the amount existing per species in the national maritime jurisdiction. In addition, this resolution is ignoring previous policies such as Decree 1124 of 2013 which establishes conservation measures for sharks, rays and chimeras, taking into account the commitments that the country was obliged to fulfill when signing the international species trade convention. threatened (CITES) by Law 17 of 1981.
See COLOMBIA: More than a shark fin
These measures are proof of the great weaknesses that the country has in maritime policy, as well as the lack of an oceanic, maritime and iron conscience that guides and is the differentiator in decision making. Although the Colombian Ocean Commission defined a national ocean policy since 2012, it lacks legal force as it is not enacted as a law of the republic, which reveals the lack of will and maritime vision that the country still has.
