We are currently working with Equipo Tora Carey on three main research programs (two of which you can decide to support when buying from our stores), and with the Universidad de Costa Rica on a big one regarding sea turtle conservation efforts on the entire country and how they’re affected by climate change. Hopefully, as we grow, we can include more programs with other key species from Punta Descartes, for example with the humpback whales, octopuses, and crocodiles! Regarding the research programs we are currently executing daily, here is a little description:

​Sea Turtle Monitoring
This is our original program and our biggest! Three years ago, we funded the NGO Equipo Tora Carey to begin a sea turtle conservation project with the community. It has grown to a point where we can employ 7 local persons to work as night patrollers (research assistants) and a long list of other people interested in joining the team! Our main problem, we don’t have enough income to employ more people, in fact, we struggle monthly to sustain the ones we have. That being said, we have three turtle species nesting in the area, and records of five species on our waters (Black turtle, Hawksbill turtle, Olive Ridley, Green Indo-Pacific Turtle, and the Leatherback turtle). Our beaches are nesting grounds for the hawksbill turtle, which is critically endangered, with a population of less than 200 reproductive females in the entire Eastern Pacific; and one of the main nesting areas for the black turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi) in this same ocean basin. We gather data daily on all the turtles nesting on some of our beaches (Punta Descartes has 15 nesting beaches, we have the resources to monitor 5), including species, size, temperature, amount of eggs, location, we take a tissue or blood sample for genetic analysis and we put unique identification metal tags to trace them and keep a record of all the times they visit our beaches. Besides this, we re-locate every nest to protect them from egg-poachers. Besides the beach monitoring, we also have in-water monitoring on foraging ground, where we visit once a month and gather the same data on juvenile turtles that live in our waters. All this information allows us to predict behavior patterns, to understand our ecosystem’s health and menaces, to see if our conservation efforts actually work, to have information to sustain criteria against unsustainable development, to educate the people on the area, among other benefits we constantly receive.

Ray Monitoring
Our most recent research program and one of the most innovative ones! Punta Descartes has an enormous diversity of ray species, with more than 24 species identified so far. The most abundant species belong to the Urotrygonidae family, which are commonly known as round stingrays, but we also have electric rays, torpedo rays, butterfly rays, Mobula rays, among others. We have a team of two local research assistants gathering data three days a week regarding species, weight, size, gender, pregnancy, sight diseases, location and we also take tissue samples for genetic analysis and put unique identification tags on them to identify re-captures and estimate population sizes and behavior trends. What is really cool about this program is the fact that rays haven’t been extensively studied so we continuously discover new information about them, not to mention the fact that they are indicators of healthy beaches, so it is very important to monitor their presence!

Yellow-naped Parrot Monitoring
We also have a smaller program regarding another species in danger of extinction that is present in the area, the yellow-naped parrot. We identified a population of these organisms that resides in the area, so we ask ETC’s volunteers to count parrots and their flight tendencies. Also, ETC usually has long-term volunteers that get a project assigned, so we also have sporadical projects that help us study them further.

Other programs in Punta Descartes
Besides our research programs, we have an environmental education program with the school from the community, and a “club” called Environmental Protectors for kids that want to get more involved in conservation. With them, we go to a beach every Saturday to clean, and we are creating a beach-debris database that could eventually evolve into another program. Besides this, some volunteers also work on short-term research projects with us.