HONDURAS: FEAR OF DECERTIFICATION KEEPS TEDS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000444 SIPDIS SENSITIVE GUATEMALA FOR COMATT: MLARSEN STATE FOR WHA/CEN, OES:JStory E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIS SENV ETRD ECON HO SUBJECT: HONDURAS: FEAR OF DECERTIFICATION KEEPS TEDS PROGRAM ON TRACK REF: A) State 19139 B) Tegucigalpa 1786 and previous ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On February 8, EconOff met with Vice Minister of Agriculture German Perez to discuss the findings of the December 2004 verification visit conducted by personnel of the Department of State and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Perez was pleased to learn that the verification team found the majority of Honduran vessels examined were using TEDs (Turtle Excluder Devices) as required by U.S. law. However, his comments, as well as those of some of the TEDs inspectors themselves in a separate meeting, made it clear that it is the threat of another U.S. decertification, rather than the actions and fines of GOH inspectors, that is doing the most to keep the Honduran shrimping fleet in compliance with TEDs regulations. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On February 8, EconOff met with Vice Minister of Agriculture and Livestock German Perez to deliver and discuss the results (ref A) of the verification visit conducted in December 2004 by personnel of OES and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). While acknowledging the validity of the criticisms contained in the report, Perez was also clearly pleased with the positive results of the visit and with the recommendation that Honduras retain its certification. ¶3. (U) According to Perez, the reason for many of the problems shown by some boats as noted in the report (such as the inadequate cut measurements, insufficient overlap on the double cover, and brace bars on the wrong side of the grid) is that some Honduran fishermen build their own TEDs rather than buying them from the United States, to save money. As a result, they sometimes construct TEDs which do not quite meet the standards in every respect. Perez promised that in the future, inspectors will be stricter about these details when conducting their pre-season checks before the boats go out to sea. ¶4. (U) Perez confirmed that the new regulations for TEDs which went into effect in August 2004 (ref B) were conveyed to APESCA (the private sector fishermen's association) at that time, and are being enforced by DIGEPESCA (the fishing office within the Ministry of Agriculture, which employs the inspectors). However, Perez acknowledged that there has 
been no change made to Honduran fishing law itself, which essentially says only "Use TEDs," without defining what a TED is. Perez said that, in order to make the regulations more official, the Ministry will issue a decree with the new regulations within the next few weeks. He also added that a new fishing law is currently being drafted which will include all recent regulations regarding TEDs (which have been promulgated by decree only),and thus give them greater permanence than they have now. ¶5. (U) Regarding the reports that some inspectors are having their salaries advanced and augmented by private fishing interests, Perez seemed to take this as evidence of the active involvement that APESCA is showing in the enforcement of TEDs regulations. Both the Ministry of Agriculture and APESCA are acutely aware that incompliance would lead to decertification, said Perez, and that "a third decertification would be fatal." He also stated that TEDs inspectors are already the best paid inspectors in DIGEPESCA. He mentioned that 70% of the fines collected go to DIGEPESCA's own budget, and suggested that the entire TEDs inspection program could become self-financing if there were a greater number of violations. -------------- The Pervasive Risk of Corruption -------------- ¶6. (SBU) EconOff also took the opportunity of the visit to raise with Vice Minister Perez a recent article in the Honduran press which alleged that undersized lobster are being caught and sold in Honduras. The article quotes Pedro Marcio Castellon, director of DIGEPESCA, as saying that the inspectors "let things happen that they shouldn't" because they are very badly paid. Perez admitted that the information in the article is probably correct, and pointed out that an inspector earning 15,000 Lempira (about $800) per month will always be vulnerable to a bribe when he is about to impose a fine of 50,000 Lempira (about $2670) on a fisherman. Establishing higher fines for violations would not solve the problem, in fact it would increase the risk of corruption, as the higher the fine imposed on the fisherman, the greater the financial incentive for the fisherman to bribe the inspector to look the other way. Perez half-joked that inspectors can receive technical capacity building, but that there's no such thing as moral capacity building. (Comment: Given that Perez's figure of 15,000 Lempira per month as the salary of an inspector is much higher than what inspectors have told EconOff they actually earn, this vulnerability is greater still. End comment.) -------------- The Inspectors' View -------------- ¶7. (SBU) On February 15, EconOff met with four TEDs inspectors from DIGEPESCA. This was the second time in the past several months that DIGEPESCA inspectors have contacted EconOff directly and requested a meeting to convey concerns about their salaries, benefits, and treatment. The inspectors admitted that APESCA "helps" them by providing them with money to supplement their per diem (which, according to the inspectors, is both too low to live on and slow to be paid, leaving the inspectors out-of-pocket for several months after an inspection). They acknowledged that APESCA should not be doing this, but denied that it has an impact on the integrity of their inspections. The inspectors did report, however, that low salaries have led to attrition among the trained inspectors. Of the 11 TEDs inspectors who received training from OES and NMFS personnel who visited Honduras in December 2003, only 8 are still working as TEDs inspectors - one has moved to a different job within DIGEPESCA, and two have left DIGEPESCA entirely. ¶8. (SBU) The inspectors also said that they have received no written guarantee that their jobs will be preserved next January when a new Presidential administration takes office. Traditionally, new administrations have replaced nearly all employees of the previous administration with new people, a practice which has had a destructive impact on the GOH's TEDs program in the past. In short, while the inspectors agreed that the Honduran shrimping fleet is largely in compliance with TEDs regulations for the time being, they do not feel that Honduras' TEDs inspection program is established on a firm foundation. -------------- -------------- Comment: Decertification, Not Fines, the Real Deterrent -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Comment: Post concurs with the OES and NMFS verification team's findings that the majority of Honduran shrimping vessels are using TEDs in compliance with USG regulations. However, it is increasingly clear to Post, and was made clear yet again by EconOff's conversations with Vice Minister Perez and with the inspectors, that the real deterrent keeping Honduran fishermen in compliance with TEDs regulations is not the fines imposed by the GOH, nor an altruistic concern for the well-being of sea turtles, but the threat of a possible third decertification by the USG. For this reason, continued USG attention is vital for the continued success of the GOH's sea turtle protection program. End comment. Palmer