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WINTER 2012
Cocos Island is accessible
only by liveaboard dive boats
operating out of mainland
Costa Rica. The crossing can
be rough, so divers prone to
seasickness are advised to
use preventative measures. All
diving is by boat.
SEASONS:
Conditions at
Cocos vary greatly with the
season. January to June is
the dry season, bringing
a greater chance of sunny
skies (though showers are
still commonplace) and calm
seas. July to December is the
rainy season, with copious
precipitation, generally
rougher marine conditions and
colder water.
CONDITIONS AND SKILL
LEVEL:
Diving is intermediate
to advanced due to extreme
thermoclines with cool (high
70s°F) water temperatures,
changing visibility and strong
currents and surge. This is not
a destination for new divers.
GEAR:
A 5mm to 7mm full
wetsuit is recommended.
Gloves are crucial, since divers
are expected to hold onto
rocks to maintain position in
the current and surge. Surface
signaling devices are required.
In 2009 a National Geographic
expedition to Cocos Island
brought together explorers and
marine scientists to record and
describe the aquatic habitat.
Their data confirmed that the
seamounts surrounding the
island are home to the largest
biomass of predators in the
tropical Pacific.
With this report in mind, the
Costa Rican government recently
expanded Cocos Island National
Park’s marine protected area
(MPA) to encompass more than
3,700 square miles of ocean,
an area larger than Yellowstone
National Park. Nevertheless,
illegal fishing is rampant. While
not surprising, knowledge of the
DIVE IN
COCOS ISLAND &
CONSERVATION
Clockwise from top: The endemic Cocos batfish can be found creeping around the sand-and-rubble bottom at Silverado. Schools
of bigscale soldierfish hover near the reef tops at many Cocos Island dive sites. Whitetip reef sharks school in great numbers at
night, voraciously hunting the reef. Whale sharks are frequent visitors to some of Cocos Island’s offshore seamounts.
S HMU L I K B L OOM
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