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.

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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