Shark Conservation in Costa Rica

To ensure a healthy underwater environment, sharks should be protected in Costa Rican waters. However, that is not the case since the two previous governments have stated that it is not their problem and continue to consider sharks as a commercial commodity instead of a protected species (CREMA, 2021). For example, NGOs like Turtle Island Restoration Center urge the national government to modify the wildlife law to prohibit commercialization of the two species of hammerhead sharks, the silky shark, and the thresher shark, which are all endangered (Steiner 2023). The efforts of organizations like these are reflected in the numbers of shark populations. Unfortunately, one of the main threats to sharks is fishing and shark finning, which has put 56% of Costa Rican sharks at risk of extinction. Marine Biologists like Mario Espinoza have stated the importance of sharks in the ecosystem and why sharks need to be protected (Tico Times, 2024). A positive win happened recently in 2023 when President Rodrigo Chavez and the Minister of Environment and Energy, and the Minister of Livestock and Agriculture signed an executive decree that bans the fishing of hammerhead sharks and their manipulation (Sensorial Sunsets,2023). The country is now on the right track to make changes that protect sharks and the underwater biome, despite its past flaws.

Sources:

CREMA. “Endangered Shark Species Now Listed under Costa Rica’s National

Endangered Species List.” Asociación CREMA, 18 May 2021,www.cremacr.org/en/endangered-shark-species-now-listed-under-costa-ricas-

national-endangered-species-list/.

Steiner, Todd, and Ken Bouly. “Taking Action to Protect the Sharks of Costa Rica

Turtle Island Restoration Network.” Turtle Island Restoration Center, 20 Sept. 2023, seaturtles.org/taking-action-to-protect-the-sharks-of-costa-rica/.

Tico Times. “Costa Rica Sharks Face Extinction as Scientists Race against Time.” The

Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate, 21 Dec. 2024,

ticotimes.net/2024/12/21/costa-rica-sharks-face-extinction-as-scientists-race-

against-time. Accessed 13 May 2025.

Sensorial Sunsets. “Costa Rica Bans Hammerhead Shark Fishing: What Does the

Shark Mean for Costa Rica? - SensorialSunsets.” SensorialSunsets, 24 Feb.

2023, www.sensorialsunsets.com/en/costa-rica-bans-hammerhead-shark-fishing-

what-does-the-shark-mean-for-costa-rica/. Accessed 13 May 2025.