Costa Rica faces CITES review over silky shark trade

Silky sharks, a large and slender species that inhabits tropical seas, are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. They are targeted for their fins, and to a lesser degree for meat, and they are also caught as bycatch. Between 2020 and 2024, Costa Rica supplied 82 % of the world’s silky‑shark exports. The United Nations Environment Programme reported that 6,414 metric tons of silky‑shark products moved in direct trade during that period, with Costa Rica exporting 734 tons of meat worth about $1.9 million and 45 tons of fins worth $5 million. Those figures imply at least 45,000 sharks were killed in a single year.

CITES review and potential ban

The CITES Secretariat and the United Nations Environment Programme have given Costa Rica 60 days to provide evidence that its exports are not detrimental to the species. In July, a review of the fishery was opened, and the CITES Animals Committee will consider the data at its next meeting in June 2027. If sustainability is questioned, the committee could recommend new management measures. If Costa Rica fails to adopt those measures, the CITES Standing Committee could suspend the country’s silky‑shark exports, a move that could take two to three years to take effect.

Costa Rica’s fishery oversight is managed by INCOPESCA, a fishery institute rather than a wildlife agency. The institute’s quota system is based on a percentage of previous landings, not on scientific data, and Costa Rica routinely exceeds its quotas. In addition, the country is missing about 500 tons of fins and is catching more than 80 % of landed sharks before they reach sexual maturity. These practices are considered unsustainable by the non‑profit CREMA, whose executive director Daniel Arauz‑Naranjo has called for a ban on exports.

Broader context and future implications

Silky sharks reproduce slowly, reaching sexual maturity at 10–12 years, which makes population recovery slow. Overfishing is the biggest threat to shark species worldwide, and a 2024 study found that overfishing has halved populations of roughly 1,200 species of sharks and rays since 1970. The global shark‑fin trade, valued at $323 million a year between 2000 and 2018, continues to drive demand for silky‑shark fins, especially for shark‑fin soup in China and Southeast Asia. If CITES ultimately suspends Costa Rica’s silky‑shark exports, the country could reorient its fishery toward species such as mahi‑mahi and tuna, which are more sustainable. CREMA says the current structure of INCOPESCA will not change without external pressure.