First Satellite Tags on Sharks at Cocos Island Costa Rica
July 13, 2005 – San Jose, Costa Rica On July 17, 2005 shark researchers will travel to Cocos Island, 532 km southwest from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, to place satellite tags on whale sharks and radio transmitter tags on hammerhead sharks. Data transmitted from the tags will help biologists determine migratory routes of whale sharks and determine if hammerhead sharks are residential at the Island.
Cocos Island was named a National Park in 1978 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The Island and surrounding waters are protected for their rich biodiversity including the world renowned variety of shark species.
“Data gathered in this project will be extremely important for understanding the populations and behavior of sharks at the Island,” says Alex Antoniou Ph.D., Director of the New Jersey based Shark Research Institute (SRI) and lead researcher of the project.
“This data will help in the creation of management plans for the conservation and sustainable use of sharks,” adds Randall Arauz, shark researcher and President of the Costa Rican research and conservation group PRETOMA.
This is the first of a series of visits to the Island as part of the project to tag sharks. Additional sharks will be tagged during the next two years, and data will be constantly transmitted and collected.
Alex Antoniou and Randall Arauz will be available for interview at 5pm July 16th at PRETOMA’s offices in San Jose, Costa Rica. For additional information please contact PRETOMA at 241-5227 or .
SHARK RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SRI), a multi-disciplinary non-profit 501(c)(3) scientific research organization, was created to sponsor and conduct research on sharks and promote the conservation of sharks. Founded in 1991 at Princeton, New Jersey, USA, SRI has field offices in Canada, the Galapagos Islands, Honduras, Mexico, South Africa and the Seychelles. A new data collecting site has been established in Australia. www.sharks.org
PRETOMA (Programa Restauración de Tortugas Marinas) is a Costa Rican non-profit, non-governmental, marine conservation organization that works to promote responsible fisheries and protect sea turtles, sharks and marine biodiversity. PRETOMA is a member of the IUCN. Contact / www.tortugamarina.org.
