Cocos Island Expedition — August-September 2024
Cocos Log Blog Research Team Part 5
Our ongoing research at Cocos is focused on understanding the migration and ecology of endangered sharks, turtles and rays with a goal of making policy recommendations to government officials so they can better protect these species. Our research continues to provide critical data to advocate for the Cocos-Galapagos Swimway (learn more at this link https://seaturtles.org/the-cocos-galapagos-swimway/ & https://seaturtles.org/campaigns/create-the-cocos-galapagos-swimway/), and to help push for better management decisions for Cocos Island National Park boundaries and regulations.
At this point in time, the political boundaries for the Cocos-Galapagos Swimway remain aspirational.
The Cocos-Galapagos Swimway will connect two UN Biosphere Reserves (Cocos Island and Galapagos Islands) and will create an important migratory pathway for endangered sea turtles, sharks and other species. Falling within the Economic Exclusive Zone of Costa Rica and Ecuador, this giant swath of ocean only needs the action of these two countries.
In 2022, Ecuador created a no-fishing zone in a significant part of the proposed Swimway, but to date Costa Rica has not. Costa Rica did significantly increase the size of the Cocos Island National Park (no fishing zone), but stretching East-West and not within the proposed Swimway. Officials sited lack of adequate data to support the Swimway, but in reality, pressure from Costa Rican fisheries and lack of political will has been the source of its failure to act based on the science.
Costa Rica also created the “Bicentennial Marine Management Area” which encompasses the Swimway boundaries we propose, but no regulations yet exist for this area and the government is currently not contemplating the needed no-fishing regulations we believe are necessary for proper management and conservation.
Please take time now to take action to protect Cocos Island National Park by creating the Cocos-Galapagos Swimway : click here.
Our specific objectives for this research expedition (if nature cooperates) includes:
- tagging sharks internally with acoustic tags, preferably silvertip sharks.
- Externally tagging scalloped hammerhead sharks with satellite tags to understand where they feed.
- Externally tagging giant mantas with satellite tags to understand their migrations.
- Capturing hawksbill or green turtles, and
- Collecting tissue samples from sharks and other fish.
The official research team permitted by Costa Rica’s Ministry of the Environment to conduct this research includes:
- Randall Arauz – a biologist currently with MarineWatch International and CREMA (and previously a 20+ year staffer w/Turtle Island), who studies sharks and sea turtles and has been doing research at Cocos since 2005. (Read more about Randall’s important work https://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/randall-arauz/)
- AnaMaria Posada – presently a doctoral student from Colombia working on a stable isotope analysis at Cocos which can help uncover migratory routes, trophic levels, and the geographic origin of migratory animals.
- Mark Stabb – an engineer who serves on the scientific advisory board of Turtle Island (https://seaturtles.org/about-us/our-team/), regularly participates on our expeditions tagging animals, assisting with keeping our scientific equipment working and helping us develop better tagging techniques and gear.
- Me, Todd Steiner – the founder of Turtle Island and an ecologist who has studied sea turtles and sharks at Cocos since 2007, in collaboration with Randall.
- Also assisting us is “Burro” UnderSea Hunter crew member who is catching sharks for internal transmitter, “Pipi”, skiff driver, and Maikel Pérez, a Cocos Island park ranger.
Credit: Migramar – https://migramar.org/
As mentioned earlier, success is based on the cooperation of nature and for this expedition we had success. The good news is:
- 1 Satellite deployed on a giant manta
- 5 acoustic tags were internally implanted into Galapagos sharks
- 16 tissue samples taken from Galapagos sharks
- 10 tissue samples taken from whitetip reef sharks
- 2 tissue samples taken from hammerhead sharks
- 1 tissue sample taken from blacktip shark
- 11 tissue samples taken from marbled rays
- 1 tissue sample taken from giant manta
- 2 acoustic receivers were serviced
To be successful at attaching external tags on hammerheads, this can only occur when these sharks are spending time being cleaned in the cleaning stations, providing a distraction allowing us to get close enough to tag them. Unfortunately, the cleaning stations were not very active on this trip and no tags were deployed. Also, no sea turtles were observed on this trip, and thus no tags were attached to these species.
We will be returning to Cocos to continue the exciting research and complete our management goals. Here are three things you can do to help:
- Send an action alert by clicking here: https://secure.everyaction.com/-HtxxlDiJEKw2g36SNa5cQ2.
- Become a member of Turtle Island and support our efforts to protect the oceans by clicking here. https://seaturtles.org/tirn-give/ and support Randall’s work at https://www.cremacr.org
- Join us on a future Cocos expedition. Email TSteiner@TIRN.net for more information.
Many thanks to all the participants who help make this trip possible, the Sea Hunter Crew and everyone at the Undersea Hunter Group, and Cocos Island Park Rangers.
