
Sharks Still Commercial Species and Not Wildlife in Costa Rica, says Administrative Contentious Court
Overfishing and sustained commerce threatens survival of critically endangered hammerhead sharks.
Overfishing and sustained commerce threatens survival of critically endangered hammerhead sharks.
The Court of Costa Rica announced on March 16th that within three week time it would resolve regarding the lawsuit against the State, INCOPESCASINAC, for allowing the commercialization of hammerhead sharks, a Critically Endangered species.
From 2010 to 2017, from 8,000 to 10,000 bodies of hammerhead sharks were landed per year. Nonetheless, from 2017 to 2019 the landings dropped from 4556 to only 488 bodies of hammerhead sharks (Figure 1).
The President of Costa Rica has vetoed the law that planned to renew the activity in the country.
The small scale fishers of Coyote and Bejuco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, landed more spotted rose snapper in 2019 than they had ever landed in any of the 12 previous years since records have been kept, with more than twice as much snapper landed when compared to 2011.