Between September 10 and 27, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) carried out Operation Blue at Salvador’s Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport, with a focus on international flights. These actions bore fruit confiscation of 164 marine animals fishing irregularly and more than 600 exotic corals.
Apart from animals, two paintings containing parts of wild animals, displayed in the airport canteen, confiscated, as were the headdresses that had been made feathers from native birds protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
Those responsible for the violations will be administratively charged and will face criminal prosecution, according to Ibama. One of the cases involved transportation of exotic corals to Brazil. The person responsible was fined R$5 million for illegal marketing and identified for other violations, such as unauthorized reproduction of marine invertebrates and there is no obligation to report to environmental agencies.
The company responsible for selling these animals is fined more than R$100 thousand for violating environmental standards. The confiscated corals were sent to the Marine Studies Laboratory (Labimar), and the wildlife is returned to the wild, released on the beach of Vilas do Atlântico, in Lauro de Freitas.
