• Protocolo de monitoreo ecológico de grandes pelágicos marinos
  • Protocolo de monitoreo ecológico de grandes pelágicos marinos
  • Protocolo de monitoreo ecológico de grandes pelágicos marinos
  • Protocolo de monitoreo ecológico de grandes pelágicos marinos
  • Protocolo de monitoreo ecológico de grandes pelágicos marinos

Ecological monitoring protocol for large pelagic species

For a long time, the natural ecosystems of Costa Rica could not be compared on a national or regional scale. This was due to the great variety of methodologies that each researcher, NGO, or government agency followed, even for the same conservation objective (e.g., sharks). Two years ago, through SINAC  the government of Costa Rica officialized the National Ecological Monitoring Program (PRONAMEC), which must be implemented to measure the degree of effectiveness of existing protected areas.  Since then, marine protocols have been developed for 5 conservation objects (ecosystems or flag species). However, there is still no standardized procedure to assess the health status of large pelagic species in Costa Rica, such as sharks. FAICO currently provides technical and financial support to the Ministry of Environment to develop this monitoring protocol, which has the potential to be adopted by 3 more countries in the Eastern Tropical Pacific region.