Silent Waters: Illegal Hammerhead Shark Fishing in Costa Rica

Two years ago, Costa Rica’s supreme court banned the hunting of hammerhead sharks. Yet legal loopholes allow longline fishers to continue capturing them, often labeling catches as “accidental.” Although hammerheads are apex predators, they are also one of the most vulnerable shark species in the world, with a high mortality rate once onboard a vessel.

Though Costa Rica is known for its progressive efforts in environmental conservation, the country has fallen behind in marine protection. The Protection and Registration Department at the Costa Rican Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture [INCOPESCA] is supposed to be in charge of holding fishers accountable for illegally exporting goods. However, for the 2,032 registered commercial fishers, there are just 125 employees at the agency. That number excludes the number of fishers operating without a license. 

Marine biologists like Randall Arauz have spent decades fighting for the protection of hammerhead sharks while holding the Costa Rican government accountable.

Despite the lack of resources, Arauz said, there must be a crackdown on the illegal-export problem before there are no hammerhead sharks left. 

“By the time you are my age you are going to be saving silky sharks, because that’s the only shark that’s going to be left,” Arauz said.