The Costa Rican government will not sacrifice fishermen for sharks, President Luis Guillermo Solís said last week in response to his nomination for the unflattering Shark Enemy 2016 award.
In this op-ed, two conservationists from the organization Turtle Island Restoration Network tell why they think President Luis Guillermo Solís' nomination for "Shark Enemy" of the year is justified.
Costa Rica’s National System of Conservation Areas placed a one-year moratorium on the exportation of hammerhead sharks last Thursday. The moratorium will put Costa Rica in compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES.
Environmental groups are outraged by new agreements between the Costa Rican government and the fishing industry which they say will roll back protections for endangered and threatened shark species. The government says the new measures will guarantee that local fishermen can make a living.
