  The study reinforces the importance of the creation of Marine Protected Areas for the conservation of sharks and rays. - CIMAR photo - |
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 Published Friday, October 23, 2020 Researchers study sharks
and rays in Costa Rica By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The team of researchers of the Center for Research in Marine Sciences, CIMAR, with the support of the Park Rangers of the National System of Conservation Areas, SINAC, has placed more than 1,000 underwater cameras that have generated 940 hours or their equivalent to 40 days of continuous video of the Pacific Ocean to monitor the behavior of sharks and rays. According to the researchers, the study reinforces the importance of the creation of Marine Protected Areas for the conservation of sharks and rays. Larger shark species, which act as true top predators, such as tiger, bull and hammerhead sharks, were only observed within protected areas, confirming that the protection of the seas is crucial to maintaining the health of ecosystems, the specialists said in its statement. In total, 29 species were captured, of which 66% are in danger of extinction. The goal of the study was to know the distribution, abundance and diversity of the populations of these species and its threats, to implement effective conservation measures. According to Mario Espinoza, a marine biologist at CIMAR, a wide variety of coastal and offshore habitats in shallow areas were studied to record the species of sharks and rays associated with rocky and coral reefs.  Some of the monitored areas are Cocos Island, Caño Island, Murcielago Bay, and unprotected areas exposed to fishing activities. Among the main findings, researchers found that 54% of the diversity of species of sharks and rays of the Costa Rican Pacific Sea inhabit depthless waters. They also determined that the greatest abundance of sharks are found in marine protected seas. On the contrary, in the sites open to fishing, fewer sharks were observed, but rays were abundant. This is explained because many sharks feed on rays and since there are no sharks in those places the number of rays increases. Videos of the study on sharks and rays can be seen on the Facebook page created by the researchers called Secret Life of Sharks. ------------------------ What have you heard of non-profit organizations that protect marine species? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com   |
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