Comment from DIANE KASTEL

The amazing marine ecosystem at Cocos Island National Park offshore of Costa Rica is under siege from illegal longline fishing vessels that target shark populations for the cruel shark-fin trade. The scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) is one of the shark species most often killed. Once abundant across all oceans, enormous schools of these sharks are now rare. We need to help The Sea Turtle Restoration Project increase protections for the scalloped hammerheads and launch its new Shark Stewards conservation project. We must protect sharks in order to protect marine ecosystems! Like most sharks, scalloped hammerheads play an important role in the health and balance of marine ecosystems. These ecosystems, including the coral reefs around Cocos Island, will seriously suffer if this top predator disappears. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists scalloped hammerheads as endangered with a very high risk of extinction in the wild. This species is in drastic decline throughout its range from overfishing for the shark-fin trade, and without our help, could be driven to extinction. We need shark stewards to allow sharks to live! In October, the newest project within Turtle Island Restoration Network, the Shark Stewards project, was announced. Together with the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, Shark Stewards will be working to end the needless slaughter of imperiled species on longlines and establish new marine protected areas free from deadly fisheries. The scalloped hammerhead shark must be listed under the Endangered Species Act!