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A team of Army, RAF, Royal Navy and civilian divers are currently undertaking a scientific expedition to study Hammerhead Sharks off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
The tri-service and civilian team left the UK for Costa Rica on Sunday 2 July 2006 and are now living aboard a boat off the volcanic Cocos Island, where they will undertake their work. The exercise is called Jurassic Shark and seeks to give better protection to this part of the Pacific.
The expedition, lasting a week, is led by Major Andy Reid, who said:
"An expedition such as this is all about experiencing controlled exposure to risk with the aim of developing the kind of leadership, teamwork, courage and co-operation that is vital to military operational capability.
"Beyond that Exercise Jurassic Shark forms part of an important conservation project, which exploits the skills of a Joint Services team to best effect. Sharks are in dramatic decline around the world and this is our chance to make a difference by establishing those parts of the shark's habitat that most need protection."
While the sharks swim freely they will be electronically tagged with radio transmitters, using spear guns. The sharks are known to enter a trance-like state when they are cleaned by smaller fish at natural 'cleaning stations' along the reef.
During this period the divers can get close enough to place a tag through their dorsal fin. The tags will send signals to receivers so the movements and migratory routes of the sharks can be tracked.
The information is needed to better protect the Cocos Island National Park and inform the scientific basis for the Eastern Pacific Tropical Seascape Initiative, which seeks to extend the protection given to this part of the Pacific.
The Cocos Island National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the work is of international environmental importance, underlining the value placed on the quality of military training and of the experience of personnel. The Armed Forces are dedicated to both adventurous training as a developmental activity and to stewardship of the environment.
The fieldwork expedition is carried out under the direction of the Shark Research Institute (which works to correct misconceptions about sharks and to stop the slaughter of 100 million annually) and is approved and supported by the Royal Geographical Society.
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