Costa Rican Spinner Dolphin Stampede with Caño Island in the background. These dolphins are stars of the new film Oceans The Movie. This shot was taken by Costa Cetacea's Shawn Larkin during the making of Oceans The Movie, while guiding for the shoot in offshore Osa's blue water pelagic ecosystem. Click the highest dolphin to find out how you can see Costa Rica´s spinner dolphins in real life.
Pelagic Park For Osa´s Incredible Blue Water Ecosytem
By Shawn Larkin A version of this article appeared in The Tico Times, Central America´s largest english language newspaper, in 2008. Check out www.ticotimes.net.
The blue water pelagic ecosystem domain of the spinner dolphins of the Osa is probably the most productive ecosystem in Costa Rica and perhaps in the tropical marine world, possibly only rivaled by the Costa Rican Dome area more than one hundred miles further offshore. According to former members of Jacques Cousteau´s legendary conservation ship Calypso, including the captain, the biologist and the underwater cameraman and chief of cinematography, offshore Osa is the richest blue water they have ever seen anywhere. These men have spent lifetimes at sea around the world observing wildlife. In case that´s not enough, the BBC´s top Blue Planet Series underwater cameraman agree that Costa Rica´s offshore Osa is the richest they have seen in clear tropical water anywhere on the blue planet. They all agreed with Nico Gershinche, the diving director for Costa Rica´s most famous dive boat the Undersea Hunter and Project Coordinator and Diving Security Chief for the Disneynature and Galatee Films upcoming movie epic Oceans, that there is much more pelagic life here than even in Costa Rica´s Coco´s Island National Park. Large scale international scientific studies have proven this area to be an incredible marine mammal hotspot unlike any other.
Whats going on here? The eastern tropical pacific is known as the most productive of all tropical oceans and is documented to have some of the largest tropical Cetacean populations. Offshore Osa might be the most productive part of the region due to three main reasons: 1. Proximity to the continental slope and the Osa´s uncontaminated fresh water and nutrients. 2. A great diversity of depths and bottom contour including a massive series of undersea cliffs and very deep ocean bottom. 3. A current that hits the cliffs, shoots up and thus creates an upwelling of cooler waters, small bait fish, marine life and other nutrients.
The commercial tuna fleet sure knows this area. They have their own names for the area, Jackpot and Bonanza. There are a ships and helicopters that hunt this population of spinner dolphins every day. They follow the dolphins all day and all night to net the dolphin’s ever-present sidekicks; giant tuna. They set their nets on the dolphins and tuna as much as they can during daylight hours and then follow the dolphins all night to make the first net set with first light the next day. They do this for weeks and months at a time. This is clearly rough on the dolphin’s lifestyle.
The dolphin´s domain is an area lying from between 5 and 20 nautical miles from Caño Island Biological Reserve. Island Reserve waters only extend around 3 three kilometers, not even 2 nautical miles. Just as the island itself has no monkeys or macaws, the protected waters are not enough to protect certain large animals like dolphins and tuna. To protect large marine animals you need at least a Corcovado or Amistad sized park at sea and probably even bigger.
An astounding amount of big amazing animals live in the Osa drop off upwelling area and would be protected along with the spinners. Fin, Sei, Bryde’s, humpback, and blue whales, and orcas frequent this little upwelling. Sailfish, marlin, tuna, manta and mobula rays, whale sharks, turtles, beaked whales, pilot whales, pseudorcas, also know as false killer whales, bottlenose dolphins, and spotted dolphins are found at some of the highest concentrations in the world. Many days hundreds of olive ridley sea turtles float upon the surface, many of the pelagic reptiles bobbing in the act of procreation.
A special area of the big blue Osa upwelling drop off, the clearest waters in Costa Rica, would be an excellent area to prohibit commercial fishing, save the spinners, and allow boaters and divers to see and snorkel with dolphins and other amazing marine life in the big blue. Local sport and artisan fishers would be assured a sustainable bounty. Trained guides, as in the kind found in scuba diving, could continue to safely show the world the most productive blue water ecosystem on earth and fill hotels and airports doing it. In Hawaii, there is a special park area where boats, which have been proven to effect dolphins around the world much more than swimmers, are prohibited. Hawaii´s spinner dolphins are so protected that only swimmers and kayakers may enter a small part of their domain. Could Costa Rica do the same thing?
Many people here in Costa Rica already benefit greatly from tourists that visit the giant dolphin pods and other marine life congregations of the Osa offshore drop off upwelling, your correspondent included. But the commercial fishing fleet will end it soon for us all if some sort of pelagic park is not created.
But there is still no new park and the spinners are still dying. There seems to be a lot less little spinners now then there were just a few years ago. The pod no longer stretches to the horizon in every direction; lately you can see the limits, and the once unknown sight of a small group of spinners is now starting to be seen.
A park is the only solution. Just as Costa Rica has demonstrated to the world the value of protecting functioning terrestrial ecosystems, we can now show the world the same goes for the ocean. Costa Rica needs to make peace with the ocean as well as the rainforest.
A dolphin and whale sanctuary where the commercial tuna and shrimp fleet can operate does about as much to help these amazing dolphins as La Sabana City Park does to help jaguars. Cocos Island National Park and Caño Island Biological Reserve waters do not protect a massive population of spinner dolphins and the vast quantities of other marine life that live in this unique completely unprotected area. A protected corridor between the two islands would be a visionary action but at a minimum, the offshore Osa drop off upwelling area must be protected.
I wonder what would happen if the spinner dolphin party here in the Osa was allowed to continue without being harassed and netted and killed. What sort of massive congregation of life would happen? Maybe it would turn into a permanent cloud of marine life the size of a big barrier reef. From the hundreds of thousands of birds above to the hundreds of thousands of tuna below to tens of thousands of dolphins in between the nearly year round upwelling is already a nursery for countless animals to be born and grow old. The area is already a marine life seed machine for everything down current, in other words, most of Costa Rica´s Pacific. This special place is already responsible for a great part of Costa Rica´s world renowned Pacific marine resources. Maybe we should keep a piece of this economic generator for future Costa Ricans intact and functioning instead of killing the dolphin that dances in the golden sunset.
Copyright 2009 Shawn Larkin
Spinner dolphins frolic in the blue water pelagic ecosytem of the far offshore Osa peninsula, Costa Rica.
Said one dolphin to the other. This photo was taken by Shawn Larkin while working as chief guide for Costa Rica´s spinner dolphins and Osa's blue water pelagic for the upcoming Disneynature and Galatee Films movie Oceans to be released around the 2010 new year.
The door to Osa´s blue water pelagic diving
Sea Turtles are bigger than Rock Stars in Drake Bay, Costa Rica.
A version of this article was published in 2008 in The Tico Times, Central America´s leading English language newspaper. www.ticotimes.net.
The olive ridley sea turtles that nest near the towns surrounding Drake Bay, on the northwest side of the south Pacific´s Osa peninsula, used to generate interest only among hungry predators like dogs, jaguars, orcas, and humans.
Nowadays the ocean going reptiles receive rock star receptions, complete with popping flashbulbs, ooos and ahhhs, and mobbing fans. They are tracked by scientists, volunteers, locals and tourists from eggs to adults, sometimes by crowds wielding cameras like relentless paparazzi.
Changing are the times from when turtle eggs and turtle meat were to eat and not to conserve and perpetuate. Thanks to people like the world famous naturalist Archie Carr changing perceptions decades ago, Costa Rica became a world leader in saving sea turtles, causing a ripple effect still felt today. The Corcovado Foundation is leading the change of perception in Drake Bay. The local communities and the local turtles are enjoying the benefits.
This past November 29, the Corcovado Foundation held their third annual baby turtle release festival and it was once again a smashing success. People of many countries turned out with the mostly local crowd of people from the surrounding area. A remote wave swept beach at the east side of Drake Bay was inundated with the unlikely deluge of hundreds of turtle revelers dancing, drinking, eating and playing games.
When the baby turtles came out they were mobbed like true celebrities. The famous musician Sting received less notice and attention when he was here in Drake. There was much tussling and positioning by the adoring public for the best view. The baby turtles required bodyguards, volunteers of the Corcovado Foundation, to protect them from over enthusiastic fans. A beach sand catwalk was defined with driftwood posts to keep the people back and give the little turtles some breathing room as they determinedly headed directly for the setting sun and the foaming surf of the Pacific.
The little male turtles took their last breaths on land as they crawled down the beach with their sisters. A few of the females hopefully might lay their eggs on this beach again in the years to come, breathing in the forest mists briefly once again. But by far most of the lives of these turtles will be spent at sea in the offshore pelagic ecosystem.
No one knows the full life story of these ancient beasts but grown adults are found throughout the year in an area offshore of the Osa peninsula and Caño Island. Dozens of kilometers from any land this pelagic area is home to countless adult turtles and many other animals like spinner dolphins. A few hours trip over these seas on a calm day will normally yield hundreds of sightings of these turtles floating on the blue ocean surface. Far more turtles than come ashore on the areas beaches are seen here, so they might be coming from far away to a special meeting place.
Because meeting is what the adult turtles do in this unprotected area. The animals frequently are seen bobbing on the surface in the act of procreation. The engrossed reptiles will often allow a close approach to boats, free divers and snorkelers. Even far out to sea, during their most intimate moments, these turtles cannot escape their many avid fans.
Neither do many turtles escape the countless nets and lines of commercial fishing in this area. The huge adults are often found dead or dying hopelessly tangled. While the endangered turtle enjoys protected nesting areas in areas like Drake Bay and Corcovado National Park, they have no protected place in their offshore pelagic home. Protecting beaches, eggs and baby turtles is just a small part of protecting the olive ridley sea turtle. Changing perceptions, and protecting their pelagic home and breeding areas, where these Costa Rican celebrities spent nearly all their lives, is the big part.
All rights reserved 2010 shawn larkin.
One way to go Green is to be Blue.
Is George Bush greener than Oscar Arias?
A version of this article was published in 2009 in The Tico Times, Central America´s leading English language newspaper. www.ticotimes.net.
by Shawn Larkin
You might think it unlikely that George Bush could school Oscar Arias about the environment and things green. You would be wrong. Believe it or not the outgoing American president, considered by many to be among the worst U.S. presidents in history, has found away to achieve a positive environmental legacy that makes him a champion of green. Or in this case a champion of blue.
Back in 2006, Bush created the world´s largest marine reserve in the Hawaiian Islands, the 140,000 square mile, Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument. But that protected area was dwarfed by the new creation of protected areas around U.S. Territories Palmyra atoll, Rose Atoll and the Mariana Islands, collectively know as the Line Islands and altogether encompassing almost 200,000 square miles, in middle of the Pacific Ocean due west of Costa Rica.
The area, upstream from Costa Rica on the massive ocean river known as the Pacific Equatorial Counter Current, now has a better chance of continuing to seed Costa Rica´s Pacific coast will corals, fish and other marine life. Only recreational activities like sport fishing and diving will be allowed, no military, commercial fishing, mining or oil exploration for these areas that hold many unknown species and over 7000 known species, including spinner dolphins and some of the healthiest surface water coral reefs in the world.
The area is bigger than all the national parks of the U.S. put together. Bush protected a piece of ocean around 10 times bigger than the land surface of Costa Rica.
The Pew Environmental Group called the action, done with a single stroke of pen, the single greatest marine conservation act in the history of the world.
Many of the new protected areas will extend more than fifty miles offshore of the islands. Pelagic and benthic bottom ecosystems, formally some of the most unprotected ecosystems on earth, are the vast majority of the whats protected. The pelagic is the most productive and largest biosphere on earth. The benthic deep sea bottoms are now known to often contain deep water coral reefs as spectacular as those of shallow seas, full of species unknown to sciences. Most countries have permitted these amazing ecosystems to be razed to mud and sand, by shrimp trawlers for example, before anyone even knows whats there, what its worth, or what use these unique creations of evolution may be to future generations. The United States has now insured that, somewhere in the world, these ecosystems are protected.
Costa Rica will hopefully do the same. Oscar Arias has already written of an interest to create new ocean protected areas in the Tico Times. Hopefully Bushes example will be followed and the thinking will be big. New areas bigger than all Costa Rica´s protected areas would be an immortal environmental legacy. Including big areas of currently threatened pelagic, benthic and deep sea bottoms seems to be a no brainer.
A fifty mile, 92km wide corridor of the deep Cocos Ridge, starting with the the southern zones Osa's Corcovado National Park and north to Marino Ballena National Park, and running offshore to fifty or more miles around Cocos Island National Park, then linking this to the already proposed Cocos Galapagos Corridor would be a start. Protecting the ocean from Ostional National Park to Santa Rosa National Park, including Gulfo Papagayo, would be sure to please Guanacaste and its large number of very serious tourism investors. Protecting fifty nautical miles, 92km around the Guardian Sea Mounts far offshore of the Nicoya Peninsula would save a piece of the north Pacific providences deep sea marine resources. The Costa Rican Dome area, a blue whale nursery and the worlds most permanent upwelling obviously needs to be included as well as the newly discovered area of incredible warm water geysers on the deep sea bottom, also unique to our planet. And a giant reserve from Cahuita to Bocas del Toro Panama and to fifty miles, 92km offshore in Limon, like an Amistad National Friendship Park of the ocean, might do the trick for saving a slice of the Caribbeans marine life. Finally, a Friendship Marine Refuge with Nicaragua linking to offshore Tortuguero National Park would make our stewardship of our oceans a shining blue example to our neighbors and to the world. A tax on commercial fishing, petroleum exploration, ocean mining, and bioprospecting in areas outside the new zones would generate funds for protecting the areas with things like satellite and robot buoy monitoring.
If a similar act of ocean conservation made even George Bush look good, imagine what it would do for Costa Rica´s outgoing president´s image and legacy. The New York Times mentioned the new President Obama is apparently considering quadrupling the size of Bush´s designation to 200 nautical miles, 370km, offshore, under the advice of the groups that originally lobbied Bush to protect the big blue like the Pew Environmental Group, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Marine Conservation Biology Institute.
The act of saving our seas would do much more for Costa Ricans and the rest of the world then it would for the image of Oscar Arias. Costa Ricans deserve to have all of our ecosystems protected. Costa Rica already sets the world example at protecting her most biodiverse ecosystems, the rainforests. Now the countries largest and most bioproductive life zone, the pelagic open ocean needs help. The most unknown and mysterious area in Costa Rica, the deep sea bottom, what the worlds most famous ocean conservationist Dr. Sylvia A. Earl calls “the heart of the ocean,” needs help. These ecosystems, priceless masterpieces of creation, are being destroyed every day by commercial fishing´s giant nets and long lines. They cannot wait for gifts of money. Costa Rica should be able to stand side by side with the United States as world leaders of protecting ecosystems. The time for an tsunami of ocean conservation is now.
