Monabay
20 October 2026
- The silky shark, a large, slender species that swims the tropical seas and is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, is heavily hunted for its fins and, to a lesser degree, for meat —and is caught in nets as bycatch.
- Between 2020 and 2024, Costa Rica accounted for 82% of global exports of silky shark products, according to a recent report from the United Nations Environment Programme.
- Its exports are under review under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty: If Costa Rica can’t prove its fishery is sustainable, the CITES Animals Committee will recommend new management measures; without implementation, the country’s export of silky sharks could be suspended.
- Meanwhile, a Costa Rican NGO has questioned the exports’ sustainability and alleged that the silky shark trade is being unduly influenced by the Costa Rican fishing industry.
“It’s a huge, huge mess, and this mess is because the shark finners are [making] all the calls,” said Randall Arauz, a marine researcher with CREMA and the winner of a Goldman Environmental Prize for his work exposing and campaigning against shark finning. “And all the government entities that are supposed to be counterbalancing this, or controlling it, are all bending over and saying, ‘Yes sir, yes sir, Mr. Shark-finner, whatever you say.’”
