fbpixel scalloped hammerhead Archives - Mission Blue

Blog Archives
Sink or Swim: Protecting and Restoring Key Mangrove Habitats for Juvenile Shark Species in the Golfo Dulce Hope Spot, Costa Rica

Golfo Dulce is one of only four tropical fjords in the world and is located on the Pacific coast of southern Costa Rica. Its warm, clear waters are home to an impressive array of marine life and play an important role in sustaining a number of critically important ecosystems.
 
 
Mission Blue designated the area a Hope Spot in 2019, in support of establishing official protection from the Costa Rican government to prevent the illegal fishing of scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) in the gulf. Research conducted by local conservation organization Misión Tiburón’, suggests that the area is an important nursery ground for the Eastern Tropical Pacific population of the Critically Endangered scalloped hammerhead shark.
 
Ilena Zanella, Hope Spot Champion and Co-founder, Misión Tiburón, says, “To protect migratory species, it is necessary to integrate conservation efforts into every phase of their life cycle.”  …

Posted in .Homepage, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Featured, hope spots, mission blue, Partner Stories, Photo of the Day, sylvia earle, Uncategorized |

Leave a comment
Scientists Detected the First Documented Journey of Scalloped Hammerhead Shark from Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica to Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Spanish version below.
A scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) travels more than 1,200 km from Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica’s South Pacific, to the iconic Darwin Arch in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Evidence of connectivity between a coastal nursery area and an essential ocean habitat thanks to a collaborative tagging effort.

By Alex Hearn, President of Migramar and Champion of the Galapagos Islands Hope Spot and the Cocos-Galapagos Swimway Hope Spot
DECEMBER 3, 2021 – Like the jaguars that inhabit the tropical rainforests of different Central American countries, scalloped hammerhead sharks transit through large marine areas of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. Such is the case of “Banco”, a male scalloped hammerhead shark tagged at the Golfo Dulce Shark Sanctuary in southern Costa Rica in August 2017 that was detected 1,200 km at the Galapagos Marine Reserve in
Ecuador four years later in March 2021.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories, Uncategorized |

Leave a comment
Hope Spot Declared at Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica in Support of Nursery for Endangered Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks

There aren’t many creatures on Earth that offer a remarkable resemblance to the mythical beings we imagined from our childhood storybooks. The endangered scalloped hammerhead shark, with its famous laterally shaped head carrying eyeballs on either side, is perhaps one of these mysterious manifestations that awe those of us on land. Unfortunately, the scalloped hammerheads are endangered, due to overfishing in Golfo Dulce. Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica is an exceptional ecosystem that hosts a nursery for the scalloped hammerhead shark, with thousands of baby sharks born there every year. Recent research suggests evidence of a biological connection between the scalloped hammerheads in critical coastal habitats and the surrounding waters of Cocos Island, making the gulf, one of only four tropical fjords in the world, a crucial area to protect.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue, Uncategorized |

Leave a comment
Cocos Island Expedition: A Lesson in Enforcement

You don’t need to be a marine biologist to understand why Cocos Island is well worth protecting. While the schools of hammerhead sharks steal the show, the truth is that there are nearly 1,400 marine species identified around Cocos Island with a high degree of endemism. On a single dive, a lucky diver could see multiple species of sharks, mantas, yellowfin tuna, marlin, eels and a profusion of fishes. Good on the Costa Rican government, then, for having created Cocos Island National Park and thus prohibited the entrance of fishing boats within 12 nautical miles around the island.
As Mission Blue and our expedition partner Fins Attached cruised back to Puntarenas on the Undersea Hunter vessel, we had time to reflect on the jaw-dropping natural beauty we had witnessed at Cocos Island and the continuing struggle to protect it.…

Posted in .Homepage, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Featured, mission blue |

4 Comments