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Sea of Change Foundation

Sea of Change

Leading through Education & Conservation

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First Marine Census in Las Catalinas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Conservation Priorities

Threatened Species & Habitats- First Marine Census in Las Catalinas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Scientists and staff deploy a “listening station” at Las Catalinas Islands, Costa Rica

The project’s long-term goal is to document and ultimately protect sensitive marine life in the Tropical East Pacific of Costa Rica, specifically in the area of Las Catalinas. T0  launch this project with our partners at Ocean First Institute and our colleagues at the University of Costa Rica and ConnectOcean, we collaborated to begin a scientific census    of fish, sharks, and rays in the Guanacaste region. Though heavily overfished, the area  has tremendous but undocumented biodiversity which is currently threatened by unregulated and expanding destructive fishing practices. Multiple user groups including fishers and divers compete for access to limited resources that garner direct and  immediate economic benefits to the region. In collaboration with our colleagues to begin the census, we:

  1. deployed multiple BRUV (baited underwater video)
  2. deployed two VEMCO acoustic receivers and three tags
  3. trained divers to download acoustic receiver data
  4. trained divers to use laser photogrammetry to measure sharks and rays
  5. trained divers to collect resource-user data

As baseline data is collected, information about species abundances and resource-use patterns can be shared with local fishery managers and local communities for use in their public process of marine spatial planning towards a more sustainable future of the Guanacaste coast, Costa Rica.

A citizen science diver with a photogrammetry laser rig for measuring sharks and rays
Las Catalinas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

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Shark Week 2022– How Should We Think About Sharks?

By Megan Hoover, Sea of Change Foundation Intern Samantha Whitcraft, Sea of Change Foundation, Executive Director             It’s that time of year again when Shark Week commercials promoting documentaries and shows on Discovery Channel and National Geographic begin. This year is the 34th anniversary of Shark Week, and both Discovery Channel and National Geographic have […]

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The Sea of Change Foundation funds conservation and research initiatives that directly impact the natural world we all love to enjoy and explore. Our mission is to create positive change.

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