This might be the most important thing you do all day to Save the World!  Sign and Share Wildly! #Sharks R Wildlife!

Newsflash⚡️; Sharks in Costa Rica are not protected, and have been classified as a commercial species. Shark fishing is running rampant.  Every person/animal/species on Earth that you know, and love depends upon a healthy Ocean for survival. Without the Ocean we do not breathe. Without sharks, the Ocean dies.

(August 16, 2023 – San José, Costa Rica).  In May of 2014, Costa Rica's President Luis Guillermo Solís signed an Executive Decree promulgating that sharks were really commercial species and no longer considered wildlife. As a commercial species, their management and conservation are currently the responsibility of the Fishermen, and Costa Rican Fisheries Institute (INCOPESCA).  This has led to overfishing of endangered and threatened sharks. We need to return the authority over endangered shark species to the Ministry of Environment (MINAE) so these essential sharks are protected as wildlife!

On June 21, 2023, we obtained a major victory at the 1st Appeals Court of the Supreme Court of Justice (Exp. 17-008322-1027-CA; Res. 000912-F-S1-2023) which shot down INCOPESCA's Commercial Species List of 2017, because it listed sharks that are protected under CITES. According to Costa Rica's Wildlife Conservation Law (articles 14c and 75) and the Fisheries Law (Article 140), these shark species cannot be fished, retained, or commercialized.

INCOPESCA however, still stands as the governing body over threatened sharks, and MINAE is reluctant to abide by its mandate to protect them. As a result, these species continued to be fished toward extinction!

A bill was submitted to the Costa Rican Congress in 2019 to modify the Wildlife Conservation Law. This bill will protect threatened sharks as wildlife and establish that it is MINAE's duty to enforce protection. The Bill has been approved by the Legislative Environment Commission since 2021 and is waiting for a plenary discussion and final vote between August & October. During this time the congress must decide to discuss and vote the bill, or it will be archived.  Luckily, we have the support of the environmental sectors of all the political parties to approve this bill!  But we need to add your voice to the chorus!  ...And as many voices as humanly possible.  We have a very short time to make as much noise as we can.  And we need to present this petition to Costa Rican congress with thousands upon thousands of signatures in the coming weeks. Help!

Please, sign this petition to Rodrigo Arias Sánchez, President of the Costa Rican Congress, to ensure he knows that the Eyes of the World are watching, and require that this bill is promptly and thoughtfully discussed, voted on, and passed.

If you want to go the extra mile, you can send a personal email to Rodrigo Arias rodrigo.arias@asamblea.go.cr (don't forget to copy us at The SeaChange Agency) stating your support to protect sharks and re-classify them as wildlife. You can also share the love on social media with the following hashtags:
#SharksRWildlife and #SharksPlenaryVoteCostaRica

Don't forget to follow The SeaChange Agency for campaign updates at @theseachangeagency 

The ocean is the foundation of all life on our beautiful planet, it’s our honor and duty to protect it.  With Love.