VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #0780/01 0971938
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071938Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE PRIORITY 4420
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR PRIORITY 3121
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5885
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS MANAGUA 000780 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR OES, COMMERCE FOR NMFS - CASEY ORAVETZ AND PAUL 
RAYMOND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIS PHSA SENV NU
SUBJECT: NICARAGUAN TRADE IN LARGE NUMBERS OF UNDERSIZED 
LOBSTERS THREATENS REGIONAL STOCKS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In the past month, Nicaraguan law 
enforcement has seized a total of 10,000 illegal undersized 
lobsters from two tanker trucks.  Yet another vehicle, 
thought to contain thousands more, managed to slip past the 
police.  While officials are confident that they will obtain 
convictions in these cases, they are worried about the 
long-term impact of undersized lobster harvests on Nicaraguan 
and regional lobster stocks. They note the economic incentive 
for economically struggling residents of Nicaragua's isolated 
Atlantic Coast to smuggle undersized lobsters into El 
Salvador, and especially, Costa Rica to feed the demand from 
the international tourist market.  Nicaragua's Environmental 
Prosecutor has requested U.S. military maritime assets, and 
encouraged USG contributions for the improvement of 
cross-border coordination of law enforcement activities to 
specifically address environmental crimes.  Post will 
evaluate this request.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) In just one month, Nicaraguan National Police (NNP) 
detained shipments of undersized lobsters from two tanker 
trucks.  A third vehicle, strongly believed to have also been 
transporting illegal lobsters, eluded police.  The two 
vehicles that were captured, contained a total of 10,000 
lobsters.  This recent spike in lobster smuggling comes after 
a hiatus of more than two years in which such activity was 
rare.  Miguel Marenco, the Director General of the Nicaraguan 
Fisheries Agency (ADPESCA), believes that lobster smuggling 
was viewed as too risky for a couple of years thanks to the 
well publicized prosecution of directors of a U.S.-based 
seafood processing company and a Nicaraguan-American in the 
Miami Federal District Court in 2003.  They were convicted 
under the federal Lacy Act in connection with a conspiracy to 
import more than $2 million worth of undersized spiny lobster 
from Nicaragua to the United States. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Marenco and Jose Garcia, a GON environmental 
prosecutor, both commented that the demand for fresh lobster 
from the tourist industry in El Salvador and, especially, 
Costa Rica provides a powerful incentive for poverty stricken 
residents of the isolated Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua.  The 
route of the vehicles used in the most recent smuggling 
attempts has been traced from the remote Atlantic Coast city 
of Puerto Cabezas across the arduous roads of Nicaragua's 
interior and to the Pacific Coast boarder with Costa Rica. 
Nicaraguan's Environmental Prosecutor Lisandro D'Leon 
specified a land route from Puerto Cabezas to the centralized 
distribution point of Tipitapa, 20 kilometers from Managua, 
and onward to the Pacific Coast town of El Ostional, where 
the lobsters are loaded onto fishing boats and shipped a few 
miles into Costa Rican waters. 
 
¶4. (U) D'Leon added that enormous commercial incentives drive 
this illicit trade, as lobsters that sell for $2 a pound in 
Nicaragua command prices approaching $15 a pound in the 
international market.  These incentives have created 
political backlash against law enforcement.  Recently, El 
Nuevo Diario reported on complaints from the ethnic minority 
population of the Atlantic Coast against Nicaragua's tough 
laws on the capture of undersized shrimp and lobster.  These 
laws are about to get tougher with steeper sentences 
associated with a new environmental law that will enter into 
force May 21.  Fishing Unions are demanding government 
subsidies in exchange for following the law. 
 
¶5. (U) To underscore the dangers of capturing undersized 
lobsters, Marenco pointed out that the 3,000 pounds of 
illegal product captured in the latest operation represents 
10,000 lobsters (from just one tanker truck) which would have 
each produced 600,000 eggs during their life span.  If only 
1% of those eggs would have survived, Nicaragua has lost one 
million pounds of future product.  Nicaragua may already be 
paying an economic price for past illegal lobster harvests. 
In 2000, Nicaragua legally exported over 4 million pounds of 
lobster, but in 2005 it was only 2.8 million pounds due to 
depletion of the stock. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Both Garcia and Marenco praised the diligence of the 
NNP, customs, and navy.  Garcia noted that there is no known 
involvement of U.S. citizens or companies in the most recent 
cases.  He is optimistic about the likelihood of obtaining 
convictions under Nicaraguan law.  However, D'Leon lamented 
apparent corruption in the courts related to the recent 
release of three traffickers who had been charged with 
shipping undersized lobsters.  D'Leon also pointed out the 
risks associated with attacking the criminal transshipment 
rings.  Their reputations for ruthlessness are so fierce, 
according to D'Leon, that when he approached the Humboldt 
Center - an NGO that freely criticizes multinational 
companies - for assistance with an  anti-smuggling campaign, 
they demurred, responding that the criminal groups involved 
were too dangerous. 
 
¶7. (SBU) ADPESCA's Marenco stated that, at this time, there 
does not seem to be a need for USG assistance in the 
prosecutions.  He noted, however, that ADPESCA lacks the 
financial and human resources to regulate lobster harvesting 
sufficiently.  He further lamented the fact that while the 
judge in the Lacy Act case ordered that the $250,000 in fines 
be given to ADPESCA for enforcement, the Ministry of Trade 
(MIFIC) has only released a small portion of the total for 
that purpose.   D'Leon added that his office enjoys excellent 
cooperation with his Costa Rica counterparts and with NOAA's 
Paul Raymond.  He expressed concern that Nicaraguan naval 
forces have insufficient resources to pursue traffickers, and 
that there has not been cooperation with the Costa Rican 
Coast Guard to pursue illegal lobsters entering their 
territorial waters.  D'Leon asked if the U.S. military might 
contribute maritime assets, and encouraged USG contributions 
for the improvement of cross-border coordination of law 
enforcement assets.  Post will evaluate this request. 
TRIVELLI