{"id":5644,"date":"2017-06-06T17:04:26","date_gmt":"2017-06-06T23:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cremacr.org\/?p=5644\/"},"modified":"2017-09-02T20:22:42","modified_gmt":"2017-09-03T02:22:42","slug":"5-hammerhead-sharks-tagged-during-expedition-to-cocos-island-with-sylvia-earl-of-mission-blue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cremacr.org\/en\/5-hammerhead-sharks-tagged-during-expedition-to-cocos-island-with-sylvia-earl-of-mission-blue\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Hammerhead sharks tagged during the Fins Attached expedition to Cocos Island with Dr. Sylvia Earl and Mission Blue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joint expedition with Fins Attached, Mission Blue and CREMA-Costa Rica.<\/h2>\n

Group removed abandoned longline fishing gear<\/h2>\n

(Colorado Spings, CO \u2013 June 6, 2017)<\/p>\n

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Expedition members from Mission Blue, Fins Attached, Ocean First Institute, and CREMA-Costa Rica.<\/p><\/div>\n

A 10-day scientific expedition led by Fins Attached Marine Research and Conservation, and supported by Dr. Sylvia Earl of Mission Blue, just returned last Saturday from Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica, a Mission Blue Hope Spot, accompanied by members of CREMA-Costa Rica, and Ocean First Institute.\u00a0 Seven acoustic receivers used to track the movements of sharks and sea turtles were serviced during the expedition, and five adult female hammerhead sharks were tagged with acoustic transmitters.\u00a0 The group also removed abandoned longline fishing gear near one of the dive sites that had tangled in the coral, and met with Park Rangers to discuss their vision and needs.<\/p>\n

The first of the five sharks tagged was christened \u201cSylvia\u201d, and is now a shark ambassador in the Eastern Pacific.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope the tracking of Sylvia\u2019s movements over the next year will generate scientific information needed to improve marine conservation policy in the region\u201d, said a hopeful Randall Arauz, of the Colorado based organization Fins Attached.\u00a0 \u201cInformation is urgently needed to justify the creation of protected swim-ways for highly migratory species to other islands of the Eastern Tropical Pacific such as the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador and Malpelo Island, Colombia,\u201d added Arauz.<\/p>\n

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Hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cCocos Island is one of the most beautiful places on earth, where large aggregations of sharks and other highly migratory marine species may still be found,\u201d said an awed Alex Antoniou, President of Fins Attached.\u00a0 \u201cThe rangers however, must be appropriately equipped to deter illegal fishers, and the governments of Costa Rica and Ecuador must initiate discussions as soon as possible to create the \u00b4Cocos Galapagos Swim-way\u2019, the first ever proposed transboundary marine protected area,\u201d Antoniou continued.<\/p>\n

Mission Blue will continue to support the conservation of Cocos Island and other Islands of the Eastern Tropical Pacific through its partnership with Fins Attached and CREMA-Costa Rica.<\/p>\n