Guarding a Remote Shark Sanctuary in the Pacific

Fundación Malpelo, established in 1999, manages the scientific monitoring, ranger surveillance, and environmental education programs for the Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site 506 km off Colombia's Pacific coast. The remote island and its surrounding waters host one of the world's largest aggregations of hammerhead sharks along with more than 30 other shark species. In 2017 the Colombian government expanded the protected marine area around Malpelo from 950,000 to 2,677,000 hectares, making it one of the largest no-fishing zones in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.