September 17, 2025
Randall Arauz knows what it takes to move the needle on marine conservation: a combination of effective policy change, shifting public opinion, and persistence. Randall, a passionate and seasoned conservationist famous for fighting against shark finning, has been advocating for critically endangered sea turtles and sharks—and improving Costa Rica’s environmental laws—for over 30 years.
We caught up with Randall to reminisce on his 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize, discuss the current state of shark conservation in Costa Rica, and chat about his latest work.
From Prize Win to Public Figure
When Randall won the Prize 15 years ago, shark finning (removing a shark’s fin for sale before dumping its body back into the ocean) was already a major global issue, but Randall’s work put Costa Rica’s role in the barbaric practice under an international spotlight. After obtaining and releasing secret footage of shark finning aboard a Costa Rican commercial fishing boat in 1997, he further exposed, in 2003, how authorities allowed the use of private docks by Taiwanese fleets engaged in shark finning. Randall then mobilized 80,000 citizens and 35 elected officials to sign a petition urging the Costa Rican government to shut them down. After a series of lawsuits, the private docks were closed to the Taiwanese fleets by presidential decree in 2010.
Randall’s grassroots work contributed to a 2005 national fisheries law prohibiting shark finning, but the law contained dangerous loopholes. When Randall realized that sharks’ lives were still at risk, he went to court to close the loopholes—and won. Today, as the shark population continues to rapidly decline, Randall has shifted his focus to halting their fishing altogether. “I don’t care anymore if sharks are finned or not—we have to stop catching so many of them.”
Winning the Goldman Prize catapulted Randall’s career as a conservationist, giving him greater visibility and credibility in the world of environmental advocacy and beyond. Along with new speaking opportunities and international media attention, including a viral photo with former President Barack Obama, Randall said the Prize opened doors for more opportunity.
However, having additional resources and global support hasn’t altered Randall’s mission—it just solidified it: “My career has continued down the same path since the Prize win: using science to challenge policy decisions.”
Why Sharks are Central to Ocean Preservation
Core to Randall’s work is his advocacy for sharks as key players in ocean preservation. “We have a principle here in the tropics: biodiversity fosters biodiversity,” he said. The more biodiverse an ecosystem, the more it thrives. Overfishing stifles biodiversity.
Randall used the example of a coral reef to explain the disastrous trickle-down effect of fishing sharks. When you remove sharks from a marine ecosystem, the species sharks feed on—mesopredators like tunas and snappers—start reproducing more frequently. When these species inevitably overpopulate, they compete with each other and the successful species consume most of the smaller, algae-eating fish. With no fish to control the growth of algae, coral—the backbone of the entire ecosystem—suffocates.
“I always compare it to playing Jenga,” Randall noted. “You remove one little block here and the whole thing collapses.”
Reducing Industrial Fishing
One of Randall’s ongoing efforts is speaking out against industrial fishing. “Our fishery resources,” he explained, “aren’t made to be industrially exploited.” The sheer quantity of fish taken from the ocean isn’t the only problem; bycatch is also a chief concern.
Right now, large-scale fisheries sweep up huge numbers of endangered species—including sharks and sea turtles—during regular fishing hauls, then justify these illegal catches as bycatch. “We have to stop using the word ‘bycatch’ and start using ‘catch’ and ‘mortality’ instead,” said Randall. “‘Bycatch’ is a word the fishing industry invented to skirt blame.”
Attaining sustainability in fisheries, according to Randall, comes down to two distinct but overlapping efforts: first, reduce the volume of industrial fishing and, second, limit fishing to specific geographic areas.
“I always ask the same question in the fisheries meetings I attend: what are your indicators of success?” Randall added. “Because my indicator is the population status of the endangered species.”
Leatherback turtles in the Eastern Pacific Ocean are close to extinction, and hammerhead sharks are critically endangered. The first step to species recovery, Randall explained, is to halt the extinction trend. “Until we get a grip on these industrial fisheries, we’re going to see the decline of many species.”
Challenging Bad Environmental Policy
Randall currently serves as the science and policy advisor for Marine Watch International, as well as the science and policy director for the Costa Rican Center for Restoration of Endangered Marine Species (CREMA), which protects a wide variety of endangered marine species, including sharks, manta rays, sea cucumbers, and sea turtles.
In both roles, Randall directs scientific research projects and coordinates proposed policy changes in order to improve environmental laws.
“How do we actually protect something?” he mused. “We have to change policy—and based on my experience, that requires going to court.” Throughout his career, Randall and his colleagues have gone up against the government countless times, often to eradicate legal loopholes that perpetuate harmful fishing practices.
In order to interrupt the unsustainable international trade of endangered sharks, Randall has focused on the framework of international conventions, such as the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). CITES grants threatened species different levels of protection from international trade. Appendix I species, for instance, are considered on the brink of extinction, so all international commerce is banned. Appendix II species are “not necessarily now threatened with extinction” but “may become so unless trade is closely controlled.” Randall acted as science advisor to Costa Rica’s CITES delegation in 2013, successfully listing hammerhead sharks under Appendix II.
Unfortunately, species listed on Appendix II are still subject to commercial exploitation and international trade, as long as the exporting nation can prove that their extraction is sustainable in biological terms. “You have to review your country’s scientific evidence to determine that commercial exploitation is not going to hurt the species,” explained Randall. “But it’s counterintuitive because, if a species is listed on Appendix II, they’re already considered vulnerable!”
Randall added that, in countries like Costa Rica, these scientific studies are performed behind closed doors by the fisheries authorities in league with shark fin exporters. To make matters worse, there’s no official entity that oversees or reviews the technical validity of these studies.
Randall’s latest legal battle is against the Costa Rican government, which issued a decree in 2017 stating that sharks aren’t wildlife, but rather a commercial species—meaning that they’re not protected under the wildlife conservation law. Thanks to Randall’s tenacity and multiple legal appeals by CREMA’s team, in June 2023, the Supreme Court of Costa Rica ruled that sharks are wildlife, that declaring them a commercial species was an illegal act, and that the Costa Rican fishery institute and ministry of environment must comply with the Wildlife Conservation Law.
Despite this significant legal victory, Costa Rica is ignoring the mandate—and Randall is still entrenched in an arduous legal process. His next move: persuade the Costa Rican legislative assembly to declare, formally, that sharks are wildlife, which would protect them from shark finning and other illegal practices.
Homing in on High-Impact Areas
Environmental advocacy is a marathon with no finish line. When Randall feels frustrated at the lack of governmental oversight or compliance, he chooses to focus on one or two high-impact areas. Lately, that’s Cocos Island, a lush volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean that is home to over a dozen shark species.
“Instead of trying to save the whole Eastern Pacific Ocean, we’re focusing on combating overfishing along key migratory routes between Cocos Island and the Galapagos,” he said.
One of Randall’s current research goals is to strengthen the scientific association between highly migratory species and sea mounts—underwater mountains rising from the ocean floor. To do that, he’s been deploying acoustic tracking devices and collaborating with private yachts to visit far-flung sea mounts to study their unique ecosystems and the sea life they support.
The Best Type of Environmental Activist
“I’ve always said that the best activist is the scientist activist,” Randall reflected. Science is the starting point for environmental change, he noted. According to Randall, the most successful activism requires a three-pronged approach: science, influencing public opinion with campaigns, and strategic litigation on the ground.
When we asked what advice he’d give to other environmental activists, Randall said to follow the science and public interest laws, “and don’t let the opposition convince you otherwise.”
That dogged determination has been crucial to Randall’s ability to make meaningful changes to Costa Rica’s fishing regulations and marine ecosystems—changes that have a powerful ripple effect across the world. “If you have the science and public interest laws on your side,” he said, “you’re eventually going to win.”
Visit CREMA’s website to support Randall’s work and help protect endangered marine species. Follow CREMA on Facebook, Instagram, and X for updates.
This blog post is part of the Prize Winners Today series, an installment that reports on the latest news and projects from past recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize. From reflections on the Prize to updates from the field, we’ll answer the question—what are these extraordinary individuals doing today?
About the author
Paige Smith
Author
Paige Smith is a content marketing writer who covers everything from culture and health to business and finance.
