Cocos Island Research Expedition

On December 24, an American Airlines plane carried 411 kilos (904 pounds) of dried hammerhead shark fins from Alajuela, Costa Rica, to Hong Kong, touching down partway through the journey in Miami. The shipment, valued at nearly $53,000, contained fins from around 411 animals, more than seven times the number on its export permit from the Costa Rican government. The fins came from two species of shark: smooth hammerheads (Sphyrna zygaena), which are classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, and scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini), which are classified as Endangered by the IUCN and under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

American Airlines announced via Twitter Wednesday morning that it no longer accepts shipments of shark fins, which were being transported illegally through the United States.

For Immediate Release   San Jose, Costa Rica (April 7, 2015)– Conservation groups PRETOMA and Turtle Island Restoration Network found evidence that hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) were being exported from…

April 7th, 2015 (InsideCostaRica.com) Conservation groups Turtle Island Restoration Network and PRETOMA have found evidence that the fins of hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) are being flown from Costa Rica to…

Today is our last day of diving and we got up a little early to be sure to squeeze in three full dives, and have time to take photos and enjoy each others company in this paradise. I had the good fortunate of having a curious Galapagos Shark check me out on the first dive, and on the second the chance to swim amidst a school of large benitos. Mark even tagged a Galapagos! Beautiful everywhere you look.

A new study published this week in Conservation Biology (available here) investigates Costa Rica’s ability to adequately enforce and protect it’s crown jewel of marine protected areas (MPAs) – Cocos Island National Park – from illegal longline fishing.