Costa Rica News – Sharks need to start heading out of Costa Rican waters ASAP, unless they want to be a part of a bowl of shark fin soup.
We have known for years that Costa Rica was not serious about protecting its waters, but at least now they are being honest about it.
Costa Rica has sided with the fishing industry, angering the environmental groups both inside and outside of the country. The issue is protections for threatened and endangered species of sharks.
Costa Rica announced an agreement to roll back the protections for these sharks in order that the local fishermen can make their living. The statement was that that the government will not “propose or support” international efforts to protect any shark species that has commercial interest.
Additionally the country will urge UPS and American Airlines to resume shipping shark fins. The country is also going to reexamine catch size standards that are in place to protect fish. It will support a bill to make shrimp trawling legal once again, even though it damages the oceans.
Aside from these new viewpoints of the government being detrimental to the environment, they are also ruining Costa Rica’s reputation.
It used to be thought of as a world leader in conservation. As seen in it’s actions, money is more important than the environment in Costa Rica.
