BOGOTA – More than half a ton of shark carcasses and fins were discovered on a Costa Rican-flagged boat that was fishing illegally around a protected Colombian island in the Pacific, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Andres Fernandez said.

The cargo was found by the navy aboard the fishing boat Camar, Fernandez said.

The boat was crewed by a minor and three adults, all Costa Ricans, who together with the fishing boat are being held at the southwestern port of Buenaventura, Colombia’s main Pacific port, the minister said.

The fishing boat was stopped Aug. 23 by a navy patrol boat for a routine inspection, Fernandez said, adding that the case is on hold while the government carries out the necessary procedures to file a complaint with authorities in Costa Rica.

The Camar was boarded in waters around Malpelo Island, a small offshore Colombian territory, the minister said. EFE