SINAC, INCOPESCA and the STATE have three days to respond
(San José, Costa Rica – September 18, 2025)
Costa Rica will no longer be able to export products from silky sharks and three species of thresher sharks. This is the order of today’s Administrative Litigation Court , accepting the imposition of a precautionary measure filed by attorney Walter Brenes of Energy Law Firm, declaring: a) the prohibition on the export of products from silky sharks, gray sharks, and three species of thresher sharks; b) that these species be recognized as endangered wildlife; and c) that the export of products from the aforementioned shark species be absolutely prohibited.
Brenes requested the precautionary measure in the framework of a judicial process for the prohibition of exports of endangered marine wildlife, which is associated with the ruling of the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of June 21, 2023. According to the ruling of the First Chamber, the declaration of threatened sharks as commercial species and the transfer of their governance from SINAC to INCOPESCA was an administrative act contrary to the legal system, and clarifying that the shark species contained in the List of Endangered Marine Coastal Wildlife Species of the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) cannot be considered commercial species and therefore, the export of their products is prohibited by the Wildlife Conservation Law (article 75).
Despite the ruling, between June 2023 and May 2024, Costa Rica exported 734.4 tons of silky shark meat worth $1,869,600.00, 45.1 tons of silky shark fins worth $4,956,000, and 3.4 tons of thresher shark fins worth $179,900. These exports were irregularly authorized by INCOPESCA, as these species are protected by law due to their endangered status, according to the ruling of Chamber I of the Supreme Court of Justice.
“The various endangered shark species will finally be able to enjoy the legal protection they were illegally stripped of by the Costa Rican government,” celebrated attorney Brenes. “After more than eight years and various legal proceedings, compliance with the First Chamber’s ruling is favoring the protection of the region’s threatened shark populations,” Brenes stated.
“It is frustrating to hear environmental authorities, during three consecutive presidential administrations, claim that sharks are not wildlife but commercial species to justify the illegal transfer of their authority from SINAC to INCOPESCA,” lamented Randall Arauz of the Center for the Rescue of Endangered Marine Species (CREMA) in Costa Rica. “We hope that this historic ruling marks a milestone toward the implementation of effective marine conservation policies in Costa Rica, and that environmental authorities finally fulfill their duty, which is to immediately implement the Wildlife Conservation Law for the management of endangered sharks,” urged Arauz.
For more information:
Walter Brenes
Energy Law Firm
wbrenes@elawf.com
(506) 8995 3068
Randall Arauz
Marine Watch International
Rarauz@marinewatch.org
(506) 8708 8253
