Remote and pristine, Cocos Island National Park sits in the Pacific Ocean, 550 kilometers (340 miles) from Costa Rica.

Cocos Island is sometimes called the “Little Galápagos” because, like the actual Galápagos Islands, it has many endemic species that live only on this particular island. Cocos Island has 235 plant species, including 70 that are native to the island. The wide variety of animal life includes more than 300 insect species, two endemic reptile and bird species, of which the Cocos finch (Pinaroloxias inornata), the Cocos flycatcher (Nesotriccus ridgwayi) and the Cocos cuckoo (Coccyzus ferrugineus) are endemic. More than 250 fish species—including tuna, whitetip and hammerhead sharks, parrotfish and stingrays—can be found on and around the island. The island has no native mammal species, though dolphins do live in the surrounding waters.

The diversity of marine life is the result of Cocos Island’s tropical climate, as well as strong ocean currents that bring many marine species to feed and reproduce around the island. The island’s remote location and unique history have also contributed to its distinct wildlife.

Cocos Island is located in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 550 kilometers (340 miles) off the coast of Costa Rica. Prior to advances in sailing made in the 1500s, people appeared to be unaware of the island’s existence, and the island has been uninhabited throughout known history. Costa Rica took control of the island in 1869, and government officials have twice tried to found settlements, without success. European explorers and colonizers occasionally visited the island, and introduced several invasive species, including wild boar (Sus scrofa).

Creation

Costa Rica made Cocos Island a national park in 1978; Cocos Island National Park is managed by Costa Rica’s National Ministry for Energy and the Environment. The Cocos Island National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The site’s marine protected area (MPA) was greatly expanded in 2002.

Protections

Cocos Island National Park is a marine reserve. This means it has strict limitations on how people can interact with it. It takes between 30 and 36 hours to reach the island from mainland Costa Rica, and tourists are not allowed to camp or stay overnight. In fact, they can come ashore only with approval from park rangers. Fishing is not allowed, and scuba diving is permitted only under strict regulation from the park’s rangers.

Challenges

Despite these restrictions, conservationists face several challenges in protecting Cocos Island National Park. Illegal fishing, a form of poaching, is the largest threat to the habitats within the conservation zone. Evidently, all illegal fishing is done by commercial fisheries and not by Indigenous populations or using traditional fishing methods.

Pressure from international markets (i.e. the popularity of seafood) makes illegal fishing in the protected waters of Cocos Island very attractive. Sharks are poached, often to supply the main ingredient for shark fin soup, which is a delicacy in China and other East Asian countries. Historically, shark fin soup was a symbol of wealth and status, and today it is often served during special occasions. One bowl of shark fin soup can cost as much as U.S. $100, and restrictions on the sale and consumption of shark fins contributes to supply shortages that increase incentives for poachers. Large tuna are also illegally fished in the waters around Cocos Island. Tuna is in high demand around the world, especially in Western countries, because it is rich in nutrients and has a long shelf life. Fishing for tuna is, however, detrimental to the ecosystem. Tuna swim deep in the water, and the method used by most commercial fishers results in other species that swim above the tuna, including dolphins, getting caught in the fishing nets. Costa Rican fishers who use innovative tuna-catching methods that do not threaten other species say they have been largely shut out of the industry, because Costa Rica’s fishing licenses are more expensive and its regulations more stringent than those of its neighbors.

Despite the protections in place for the waters around Cocos Island, in 2023, 18 marine conservation organizations found that Costa Rica was violating U.S. Public Law and at least two fishery conventions related to illegal fishing. The organizations found the government was endangering billfish and sharks, and called for Costa Rica to be labeled as a country that repeatedly practices illegal fishing.

Some actions are being taken to further protect Cocos Island. Park rangers are using an advanced radar system to monitor boats that enter the protected area, and there are signs that the increased monitoring is helping to curb illegal fishing. But funding remains a challenge, and park rangers say that they sometimes go without basic equipment.

The remote location and isolation that contribute to Cocos Island’s biodiversity and pristine condition can also make it difficult to secure adequate attention and funding. Because the island has so few visitors, environmentalists have a hard time convincing others that Cocos Island needs greater protection.


Habitats and Uses

Scientific Use

National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala, Explorer-at-Large Sylvia Earle and a team of marine scientists visited Cocos Island in September 2009 to document the marine ecosystems there.

Sala and Earle visited the MPA as part of a Pristine Seas expedition. Pristine Seas is an exploration, research and conservation project that aims to find, survey and help protect the last healthy, undisturbed places in the ocean.

The waters around Cocos Island are some of the most shark-rich in the world. Pristine Seas divers routinely swam with whitetip sharks, whale sharks and hammerhead sharks. Scientists monitored shark behavior, documenting how the animals hunted for food, such as mackerel.

The Pristine Seas expedition also studied the Gemelas Seamounts, an underwater mountain range that is not part of the Cocos Island MPA. The marine biologists discovered that while the Gemelas Seamounts are full of organisms like sponges, corals and sea stars, larger fish, such as grouper, are less abundant than they are in the nearby MPA.

Recreational Use

Tourism is a major industry in Costa Rica, and while some tourist activities reach the Cocos Island, it only has about 1,100 visitors a year. In particular, Cocos Island is renowned for its scuba diving. The variety of sharks, dolphins, rays and other marine life make the island an ideal destination for divers and snorkelers. It is also known for its whale sharks, the world’s largest species of fish. Whale sharks can grow up to 12 meters (40 feet) long, but the slow swimmers are no threat to people, as they feed on tiny plankton, algae and krill.

Climate change and pollution may seem like bigger threats to the ecosystem of Cocos Island than scuba diving or swimming with sharks, but divers sometimes unintentionally harm coral reefs by introducing pollutants or accidently touching a reef. Human activity puts more stress on the reef and leaves it susceptible to damage from climate change and similar threats. Although some people see tourism as a means to draw attention to Cocos Island, visitors need to be closely monitored to ensure that the potential risk of damage is kept to a minimum.