‘An amazing discovery’: Scientists hit upon first nursery for hammerhead sharks in the Galápagos

Photo credit:  Greenpeace / Sophie Cooke. Retrieved from euronews.com

Scientists have discovered what could be the first known smooth hammerhead shark nursery in the Galápagos.

The vulnerable shark species – so-called for its elongated head which forms a straighter curve than the scalloped hammerhead – is rarely spotted in the marine reserve.

But after observing several young pups in a small bay at Isabela Island, the Greenpeace expedition team believe they have found a breeding ground in the archipelago – and they’re rightly excited.

“This is an amazing discovery!” says lead scientist Alex Hearn from Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador and marine conservation research organisation MigraMar. “Not only is this species rarely reported here, but in this bay we have found numerous young-of-the-year, suggesting that this might be a nursery site.”