Failing to protect hammerhead sharks from finning

Failing to protect hammerhead sharks from finning

Conservationists accuse Costa Rican authorities of allowing the shark-fin trade to continue despite global treaty.

Lindsay Fendt | 07 Jun 2015 11:58 GMT


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Some species of shark have declined by 90 percent in the last 15 years
(Costa Rica Fishing Ministry)
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San José, Costa Rica - A banner depicting a school of hammerhead sharks flutters over the heads of angry protesters outside Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly.

The spirited demonstration was spurred by the authorised export of as much as 1,611 kilogrammes of endangered hammerhead shark fins - despite new international regulations protecting the species.

Below the sharks' gaze from the banner, the mob surrounds a frenzied man with a microphone.

He is Randall Arauz, a marine biologist and president of the marine conservation organisation Pretoma. Arauz has spent decades fighting to protect sharks - some species of which have declined 90 percent in the last 15 years.

"This is about more than just sharks," Arauz told Al Jazeera. "This is an ecosystem problem. If you get rid of the ocean's top predators, everything changes."

More:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/06/failing-protect-hammerhead-sharks-finning-150605185856796.html

Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112786855