The Center for Research in Marine Sciences and Limnology (Cimar) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) maintains constant monitoring in Isla del Coco in order to assess the current status of sharks, rays and reef predators.
It is the third expedition carried out by this center in the Costa Rican Pacific National Park.
According to Mario Espinoza, Cimar scientist, the idea of expeditions is to know the status of sharks to generate data that can be compared with other countries, since 25% of sharks and rays are in danger of extinction because of overfishing, climate change and the destruction of habitats.
Every marine organism has a function in the balance of the ecosystem. Sharks are large predators, located in the highest part of the food chain and when they are eliminated there may be consequences,”
said Espinoza.
To carry out the monitoring, the experts place structures on the sea floor and in the water column with remote fishery cameras that constantly film the marine organisms that are approaching.
In addition, the team is responsible for counting the number of species that were recorded, to subsequently have data on diversity, species richness and relative abundance.