No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveResearchers Spot Giant Sharks off Corcovado

Researchers Spot Giant Sharks off Corcovado

Researchers with the ocean conservation organization PRETOMA were pulling in their fishing line when they realized they had caught a little more than they had bargained for: what is believed to be a bull shark measuring approximately four meters (13 feet) in length.

“It was very close to the surface. We were pulling it in when the line broke,” said Allan Bolaños, a researcher who was aboard a boat about two kilometers off the coast of the southern PacificOsaPeninsula when he and others spotted the massive shark.

Bolaños and a group of researchers were in the region to capture bull sharks in order to outfit them with tracking devices in order to study their movements. The fishing lines the scientists were using, however, were no match for the largest of these sharks, PRETOMA said in a statement released last week.

“Many of the hooks and steel leaders were mangled, destroyed, or simply bitten off by the large animals, only one of which came close enough to our fishing vessel for us to take a glimpse of its amazing size, before it too broke free,” said Randall Arauz, the expedition’s scientific director.

Bull sharks, particularly juveniles, are known to swim up freshwater rivers in search of food and protection. Bull sharks have been seen far up the San Juan River, which forms Costa Rica’s northern border with Nicaragua, and are believed to inhabit Lake Nicaragua, the river’s source.

On average, bull sharks range between 2.1 and 3.4 meters, and are classified as “near threatened” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

As part of the Bull Shark Tagging Project, the researchers captured and tagged four juvenile bull sharks measuring approximately one meter in the brackish waters where the SirenaRiver meets the ocean, at the edge of CorcovadoNational Park. Bolaños and others are studying the movement patterns of the sharks in the hopes of expanding the national park’s boundaries to cover more of the sea.

Currently, Bolaños said, the park’s protected status extends 500 meters into the ocean, an area where fishing is prohibited. The four-meter bull shark was spotted two kilometers from shore.

The research project is funded by the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), the BBC Wildlife Fund and corporate sponsors through PRETOMA’s Corporate Membership program.

–Leland Baxter-Neal

 

Popular Articles

5,000-Year-Old Woman’s Remains Discovered in Peru’s Ancient Caral Civilization

Archaeologists announced Thursday the discovery of the remains of a woman who lived approximately 5,000 years ago and is believed to have belonged to...

Costa Rica Declares Red Alert for Poás Volcano Amid Increased Eruptions

The Costa Rican National Emergency Commission (CNE) declared a red alert for Poás Volcano National Park, after reporting a sustained uptick in eruptive activity....

Adjusting to Expat Life in Costa Rica and Its Two Gentle Seasons

Costa Rica's subtle seasonal changes offer orientation when spring, summer, autumn and winter aren’t there to structure the passage of time. Spring is here,...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait

Latest Articles