Aerial panoramic view of Holbox and Laguna Yalahau, Mexico 

Project leader Ramón Bonfil is combining modern (environmental DNA, BRUVs and UAVs) and traditional methods to search for sharks and rays in two coastal nursery areas in Mexico. He wants to find essential shark areas on the Mexican Caribbean coast that can feed into the IUCN’s Important Shark and Rays Areas (ISRAs) process, putting key habitats on the map with the information needed to protect them. To do so, he’s reconstructing the past use of these coastal nurseries and comparing how sharks are using them now.