Scientists at the Charles Darwin Foundation and Galapagos National Park Service returned from a research cruise to Darwin and Wolf islands with news of a hammerhead shark tagged in Malpelo having been detected in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.
Marine Protected Areas of the Eastern Tropical Pacific.
This news finally closes the golden triangle for hammerheads _ in the last year, hammerheads from both Galapagos and Malpelo had appeared in Cocos, but direct connectivity between the two areas had not been established. It now appears clear that the populations of hammerheads in waters of Ecuador, Costa Rica and Colombia are at least partially connected, highlighting the need for international collaboration in the development of conservation policies for this species.
The research team was also able to attach 4 satellite tags to male hammerheads. These have already started to send information about their position and swimming behavior via satellite. This information should be available to view shortly in our Results section.
“It is interesting that we have caught 6 hammerheads so far, and all have been males, whereas when we observe the large schools underwater, they are mostly made up of females,” remarked Dr. Alex Hearn (Charles Darwin Foundation).
The team was concerned however, that a number of the underwater monitors had been vandalized, reducing the amount of information recovered. Onivid Ricaurte (Galapagos National Park Service) promised to investigate these losses, but highlighted the spirit of collaboration shown by most members of the local community: “People in Galapagos are mostly concerned about the sharks, as we understand that they play an important role in the ecosystem, and they also contribute to the local economy via the dive industry.”
