National Geographic reports that the 4,000-square-mile expansion of the marine protected area (MPA) around the extraordinarily biodiverse waters of Cocos Island National Park committed to by former Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís failed to be enacted. The report states that this was due to pressure from local fishing interests.
Wetpixel editor Adam Hanlon provides some personal comments about the tragic recent shark bite fatality that occurred off the Cocos Islands, Costa Rica last week. As a community, we should join together to offer our thoughts and support for all those directly affected by the tragedy. It is also important to avoid speculation and incorrect assumptions about the cause.
A female scuba diver has died following an encounter with a Tiger Shark while ascending to a safety stop after completing a dive in Cocos Island. A 26-year old dive master, Mr. Jimenez, was also injured by the shark. The female diver has been identified by last name Bhandari and was 49-years old. The diver in Bhandari’s group were visiting Cocos Island with the Undersea Hunter group.
Backscatter’s Berkley White has posted a stunning video featuring an amazing dive with a large school of hammerhead sharks at Cocos Islands on Vimeo.