 | | Photo (c) George Duffield |
You’re invited to join Randall Arauz, 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize Winner, and me, Todd Steiner, STRP's Executive Director, on a 12 day live-aboard research expedition to Cocos Island National Park to help us study the sea turtles and sharks of the region. Our aim is to better understand these species' movements, and collect data necessary to advocate for marine protected “swimways.” Your participation may be tax-deductible*.
These trips rank as my most memorable lifetime diving experiences, and offer some of the most spectacular opportunities to view and photograph the incredible marine biodiversity of the East Pacific. Expedition participants will get to dive among schooling hammerheads, several species of sea turtles, and schools of thousands of fish, and support conservation efforts directly at the site.
To see amazing 360 degree views of the Cocos Island, the Undersea Hunter vessel and underwater views from the DeepSee submersible, click here.
To read testimonials from previous expedition participants, click here.
  To expand the connections between scuba divers and Cocos Island research and conservation, Sea Turtle Restoration Project is now partnering with nonprofit Project Aware "Protecting Our Ocean Planet - One Dive at a Time." Learn more about Project Aware at www.projectaware.org.
Cocos Island National Park and World Heritage site is located 530 km southwest of Costa Rica. Known as one of the world’s most incredible diving destinations, it is famous for its large populations of scalloped hammerhead and white tip reef sharks, and boasts a number of endemic fish that occur nowhere else on the planet. Hammerheads are easily viewed at close range at “cleaning stations,” and inquisitive green turtles commonly approach our dive teams, offering fantastic photographic opportunities and facilitating tagging studies.
Other regularly observed species include Galapagos sharks, black tip sharks, silky sharks, marbled rays, eagle rays and bottlenose dolphins. The special treat of any diving expedition--whale sharks--are also occasionally observed. Endless schools of jacks also swarm the island.
On these upcoming trips researchers will add to our current tagging efforts that include 150 sharks with acoustic telemetry and 72 green and two hawksbill turtles with a combination of satellite, acoustic, and monel tags. We will also recover, download data and re-deploy six acoustic receivers located underwater around the island. Participants will be able to assist with various levels of research depending on experience.
The expedition will be supported by the experienced and well-known dive company Undersea Hunter S.A, which has been running expeditions to Cocos Island since 1990. We will be using the 130-foot MV Argo, their newest and largest live-aboard vessel. Participants will be divided into two dive groups which will be under the supervision of an experienced Dive Master/Rescue Diver. Those planning to dive MUST be experienced divers, with PADI or NAUI
membership, and have personal DAN insurance. Nitrox is available for
certified divers.
Expedition members are expected to arrange their own travel to Costa Rica.
The expedition begins with pickup at the hotel of your choice in San Jose, Costa Rica on day one at around 10:00 am, and ends when we return you to your hotel on last day at around 12:00 noon.
Upcoming trips:
November 10-22, 2013 (12-day trip)
Cost: $6,835
(includes all meals and nitrox refills) + $315 (Cocos Island National
Park entrance fee) + $60 (round-trip transportation between hotel in San
José to dock in Puntarenas). TOTAL cost of trip: $7,210*
* These expenses may be tax-deductible, as they help finance the
research expedition.
For details of costs and a sample trip itinerary click here.
To ensure a space on one of these expeditions we are requesting a 50% deposit. (To see cancellation policy, click here)
All passengers should obtain trip insurance in case they have to cancel their trip due to unforeseen reasons beyond our control, such as weather or personal illness. In case the trip has to be cancelled due to an unforeseen reason within our control, the full payment for the Cocos Island trip will be refunded. Neither STRP, PRETOMA nor Undersea Hunter S.A. will be held liable for other expenses related to the trip, such as airline or other travel arrangements, which should be covered by trip insurance. The trips will be jointly led by Randall Arauz, Executive Director of PRETOMA and Todd Steiner, Executive Director of STRP.
For more information, contact: Madeline at info@seaturtles.org.
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