Randall Arauz graduated from the University of Costa Rica in 1988. His early career was focused on sea turtle conservation, when he worked as the Administrator of the Green Turtle Research Station and then as the Director of the Leatherback National Park in the early 90s. Throughout the 90s he worked as an associate researcher at the University of Costa Rica and founded the Costa Rican NGO PRETOMA in 1997 to initiate on-going community-based sea turtle conservation projects and to seek solutions for the high shrimp trawling induced mortality on sea turtles.
In the late 90s he became interested in the longline fleet and its impact on sea turtles, and for 10 years directed an observer program that resulted in the generation of unique longline fisheries data in the region. During this lapse he stumbled upon the shark finning issue and started an on-going campaign that has had domestic, regional, and global impact. Randall has appealed to the Costa Rican legal system repeatedly to obtain benchmark victories, such as the closure of the green turtle fishery in 1999, a mandate to land sharks with fins attached in 2006, an impediment to initiate a Tuna Farm project in 2007, a ban on the use of private docks by the Taiwanese shark fishing fleet in 2010, and a ban on shrimp trawling in 2013.
He has officially represented Costa Rica at international conventions such as CMS (2007) and CITES (2013) and has been a member of the official Cocos Island Regional Management Council since 2011. He has held memberships in several IUCN Specialist Groups (Sea Turtles, Sharks and Connectivity Conservation). He currently serves as Marine Conservation Policy Advisor for the Colorado based non-profit Fins Attached Marine Research and Conservation.
Oh, and he wants to make a living selling beer to biologists conducting studies when he retires.
RANDALL ARAUZ
https://www.instagram.com/r_arauz1963/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/randall.arauz
CENTER FOR THE RESCUE OF ENDANGERED MARINE SPECIES (CREMA)
https://www.cremacr.org/en/
CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FRAUNA AND FLORA (CITES)
https://cites.org/eng
PLAYA CORAZOLITO LODGE
https://www.facebook.com/corozalitolodge/