Scientists and technicians from the protected areas of these countries will make a 20-day journey that will provide data on marine species
JORGE ALVARADO
Updated 05/04/2021 10:19
Three years since the first expedition, yesterday, May 3, 2021, the second scientific expedition set sail through the Isla del Coco (Costa Rica) and Galapagos (Ecuador) migration routes. With the departure of the ship M / Y Sharkwater, from Quepos, in the Central American country, fourteen researchers of six nationalities will study six sites during a 1,500-nautical-mile journey which will end on May 23 at the expedition’s starting point. The results of this research will provide scientific evidence on the migration of whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, stingrays, whales and other mammals that move between Marine Protected Areas.
The Coco – Galapagos migration route is a biological corridor that links the Isla del Coco National Park and the Submarine Mountains Marine Management Area, in Costa Rica, with the Galapagos Marine Reserve in Ecuador.
Danny Rueda, director of the Galapagos National Park (PNG) accompanied Haydée Rodríguez, Vice Minister of Waters and Seas of Costa Rica, who chaired the virtual departure event of the expedition, along with representatives of CMAR, Pacífico and the expedition members.
Tagging Fish
Jennifer Suárez, a PNG park ranger who was also part of the first Coco – Galapagos expedition in 2018, and César Peñaherrera , scientific coordinator of MigraMar, explained that “the team will mark fish and marine mammals with acoustic and satellite devices in the seamounts of the Fila del Coco, Coco Occidental, Las Gemelas and La Isla del Coco, in Costa Rica; the seamounts of Medina and Paramount; and Darwin Island in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, in Ecuador. They will carry out sampling with a remote bait underwater video system (BRUV), and measure biodiversity through both sightings and taking DNA samples.”
With the arrival of the expedition to San Cristóbal, it is planned that on May 13, 2021, Marcelo Mata, Minister of Environment and Water of Ecuador, will preside over an official event to highlight the importance of the Galapagos Marine Reserve and the regional relevance of La Migravía Coco – Galapagos.
The expedition is carried out with support of the PNG, San Francisco de Quito University, Cocos Marine Conservation Area, CIMAR, CMAR, CREMA, Fins Attached Marine Research and Conservation, Fundación Pacífico, Galapagos Conservation Trust, Galapagos Science Center, MigraMar, Popular Cinema, Ocean Blue Tree, Only One, Sea Legacy, Shark Conservation Fund, SINAC, Turtle Island Restoration Network, and Universidad de Costa Rica.
Read the original coverage from Expreso at https://www.expreso.ec/actualidad/ecuador-costa-rica-lideran-expedicion-cientifica-migravia-coco-galapagos-103852.html
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