Life as an intern with Pelagios
By Sofie Möhrle
Buenos días, my name is Sofie and I am studying Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries Science in Hamburg, Germany. I have always had a great appreciation for the beauty of nature and all the adventures it holds especially enjoying any ocean related activities. However, my very first dive with sharks changed everything as seeing these majestic top predators underwater made me realize how misconceived they are. It awoke in me the urge to help protect these endangered animals through research and conservation efforts.
So, when I found Pelagios Kakunja through social media and started seeing all the great content on their various research projects and conservation work I got hooked on the idea of joining this amazing team of shark lovers. What better way to spend two months of your semester break than learning as much as possible on shark research and their protection exploring the diverse marine environment in the Bay of La Paz!
On arrival in La Paz I was warmly welcomed by all staff members of Pelagios making me feel like part of the team from day one. Even with the current health situation I always felt comfortable and safe as the team is very cautious wearing face masks and providing hand gel for everyone to stay healthy.
Luckily all the projects are running, and they make the greatest effort to get the interns involved in every aspect of their work here. If you want to experience shark research and what goes into planning the trips, preparing all of the gear and getting experience collecting data you have come to the right place! Learning how much energy and work goes into marine biology research makes my time with Pelagios extremely authentic and everybody here is very keen on sharing their knowledge and skills.
This experience will not only enhance my scientific skill set as a shark scientist, but also strengthen my love for the ocean even more. The best part of my past three weeks was all the time we spent on the boat and in the water. My highlight so far was my first ever encounter in nature with the biggest fish in our oceans. Snorkeling alongside the majestic whale sharks collecting scientific data was breathtaking!
And it is only preseason for whale sharks right now so I can’t believe how lucky I am to have a couple more weeks ahead with many more adventures to come. The abundance of marine life in the waters of Baja California Sur instill hope for the future in me especially knowing there are passionate driven organizations such as Pelagios Kakunja working hard on the conservation of our oceans.
Blog publication date: October 1, 2020