DATELINE: 27th July 2001

SHARK-FINNERS OVERRULED
An Ecuadorian judge has ruled that the owners of a vessel caught taking sharks in the Galapagos' protected waters did not have their constitutional rights violated.
The ruling established that Ecuador regarded as legitimate its seizure of the vessel and the destruction of 78 sharks and 1044 shark fins found in its holds.
The vessel's owners had put forward their rights argument based on an earlier ruling by the Ecuadorian judiciary that had led to the release of another pirate vessel, on the grounds that its seizure went against its owners' constitutional rights.
The turn-around in Ecuador's law courts was welcomed by conservationists who have been demanding a firmer approach by the country against finners and other hunters operating in the Galapagos' protected waters.

---