Costa Rica pledges not to protect sharks

by adamhanlon Friday, October 9th, 2015

ICR News reports](http://insidecostarica.com/2015/10/06/costa-rica-says-will-protect-shark-species-commercial-interest/) that the Costa Rican government has stated in a letter sent to environmental groups that; “it will not propose or support the inclusion of shark species with commercial interest in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)”. Effectively announcing that it support the continued fishing of sharks, the letter goes on to state that the government will act as an intermediary to overturn airline bans on the transport of fins.

Environmental groups have widely condemned the statement, emphasizing that it places Costa Rica’s image as an environmentally responsible nation in jeopardy.

Corruption is endemic in Costa Rica, it is well known that Taiwanese and other
fishing interests have many CR officials and representatives in their pockets.....as long as they pay them off, they will prioritize fishing interests over
conservation. Rob Stewart and Paul Watson did a good job raising
international awareness some years back, but the situation with shark
populations in the eastern tropical pacific has gotten steadily worse in
the intervening years. The so called national park of Isla del Coco is
kept free of longliners during the hours of daylight, but their lines
are set and hauled at night, while the fishing boats sit it out over the
horizon during daylight. The schools of hammerheads are radically
smaller and fewer than they were some 20 years ago when I first started
diving Cocos.....how could they not be> I have not done a trip there
where I have not encountered tangles of longline at Dirty Rock, Punta
Maria and Alcyone...sad reality but while CR has done much more than
many other nations to preserve biodiversity, they pay lip service to
marine conservation. But CR is by no means on their own when it comes to questionable commitment to marine conservation. Many far richer nations are just as guilty To change things there are many obstacles....layer
upon layer of vested interest, corruption and greed need to be
disentangled......a real challenge when you are dealing with a heady
mix of corporations, corrupt politicians and corrupt officials. A fresh approach is needed....shark conservation is stalling and before long its simply going to be too late to do anything for some populations. CR is only one example, but it is a good one. But much of the rest of the world is just as bad if not worse.....including the EU....where we export our excess fishing capacity around the globe.... paying bribes to officials in smaller nations in order to secure access under private fishing agreements. While we continue to discuss and debate what we know only too well, shark populations continue their decline....day by day....and they are rapidly heading into oblivion! We can highlight the case of CR but we all have a responsibility - conservation starts at home!

Posted by Nick Pfeiffer on 2015-10-10 14:00:09