Hammerhead Shark Nursery Discovered in Galapagos
Endangered scalloped hammerheads are protecting their young and saving their existence
It just goes to show you — there’s always something new to discover. I’ve been snorkeling and diving throughout Galapagos for decades (longer than I like to admit actually). And if they’d let me, I’d jump right in and see the newly discovered scalloped hammerhead shark nursery located off the shore of Santa Cruz Island.
Galapagos is one of the most densely populated zones for sharks in the world. It is an area where scientists have long dedicated themselves to tracking sharks and providing them with safe havens for breeding. But it wasn’t until November that they discovered this breeding site. What will follow is years of study of shark behavior, growth, and migration patterns, to name just a few areas that research will cover. Since sharks are known to live up to 50 years, there will be extensive data to gather and assess.
Along the coasts of the Galapagos Islands, there are vast areas of mangrove trees. It is one of these mangrove forests along the coast of Santa Cruz that sharks are using as a breeding ground and nursery. The mangroves, by their nature, are sheltered and filled with crustaceans which serve as food for the young.
“It was quite by chance that we found this natural nursery for baby hammerheads, a species that is under a high level of threat,” according to Eduardo Espinoza, a Galápagos National Park biologist. “It is a unique area, of great interest to conservationists.” He explained that the baby hammerheads were spotted swimming in a shallow, rocky pool hidden among mangrove swamps. “The females arrive to give birth and then leave,” Espinoza explained. “The young have all the food they need here and the reefs afford protection from large predators.”
After a 9–10 month period of gestation, females give birth to their pups. And the litters, amazingly, can be 30 or even more. Because the newly-discovered area is well-protected and rich with food, the females actually abandon their young and return to the open ocean, with the shark-like intuition that their offspring will mature in the safest environment possible given the vastness and dangers of the open ocean.
Since these sharks are being studied, they have to be fitted with electronic tracking devices. And, as you might imagine, this isn’t always an easy process. Scientists report that since the fish needs constant water flow to breathe, they have only two minutes to catch, tag and return each specimen.
This nursery is particularly significant because scalloped hammerhead sharks are classified as an endangered species due to over-fishing, use of shark in shark fin soup and other illegal captures. In fact, in the past 20 years seven out of the nine hammerhead species have joined the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and in 2014 the scalloped hammerhead became the first shark species to be protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Just last year Galapagos created a vast sanctuary zone where all species of fish and underwater creatures can thrive, safe from fishing, nets, boats and other unnatural phenomena. But now, in Santa Cruz, the hammerheads have helped themselves in the best way possible for the continuation of the species.
Harry Jiménez, Owner and General Manager
Galapagos Eco Friendly
Av. 12 de Febrero y Av. J Roldo
San Cristobal Island
Galapagos, Ecuador SCY
Reservations: 593 052 520 124
Email: info@galapagosecofriendly.com
