Socorro Islands Liveaboard Expedition with Fins Attached Marine Research & Conservation

February 18-28, 2024

Do you know what it is like to come face to face with a Giant Manta? Have you ever seen a shark tagged for scientific research? Join Denver Divers for our trip to Socorro Islands to assist in sustaining the life of the sharks in the Revillagigedo Islands (aka the “Socorro Islands”) with the Fins Attached: Marine Research and Conservation team.

We will be diving with and tagging various sharks, including scalloped hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, silver tip sharks, white tip reef sharks and silky sharks that reside in the Revillagigedo Islands! In addition, we will have the opportunity to fun dive around the islands and have frequent encounters with the giant manta ray, also being studied by the Fins Attached team. There is also a high probability of encounters with Humpback Whales, so don’t miss it!

Standard Cabin: $5,500

Superior Cabin: $5,700

Single Cabin (Only 2 available!): $6,100

• Roundtrip airport & hotel to vessel transfers
• 2 nights hotel accommodations in San Jose del Cabo prior to & after departing Solmar V Liveaboard
• 8 nights accommodations aboard Solmar V Liveaboard (dbl occ)
• Multiple daily dives & participation in shark tagging and research & presentations
• All meals and beverages aboard liveaboard
• National Park & port fees
• Nitrox (must be certified)
• Fuel Surcharge
• Taxes
• Group Escorts including scientific researchers from Fins Attached

• Roundtrip airfare to/from San Jose del Cabo, MX
• Meals and beverages not mentioned above
• Personal dive equipment
• Gratuities
• Dive Insurance and Trip Cancellation Insurance
• *Any costs related to COVID-19 testing, procedures, or quarantine

Trip Highlights

Air Temperature	Water Temperature	Experience Level	Training Opportunities
74℉ to 82℉	71℉ to 78℉	Minimum of 50 logged dives required; stress and rescue certification recommended	Select specialty courses

Trip Downloads:

Revillagigedo Islands Liveaboard Brochure 2024

Denver Divers Travel Participant Terms & Conditions

$1000 deposit due at sign up

Final payment due 60 days from departure

Call Denver Divers at (303) 399-2877 or email us at alimiller@denverdivers.com and schedule your trip today!

About the Revillagigedo Islands

Known worldwide as the “Mexican Galapagos”, the Revillagigedo Islands are the kind of place where anything can happen at any time. Known in the diving community as the Socorro Islands, this archipelago is located approximately 240 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, requiring travel on long range boats to dive.

In 2016, the islands were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site – giving sanctuary to many populations of sharks, dolphins, turtles, more than 200 giant manta rays, and a wintering population of approximately 1200 humpback whales. This fact, along with the preservation efforts of the Mexican Navy base on site, make them a dream destination for divers from all over the globe.

About the Research (from Fins Attached)

Historically, research on sharks has been slow and inconsistent. The remoteness and inherent dangers and difficulties of studying sharks in their natural habitat and a lack of funding are to blame. However, we are beginning to understand sharks and their behavior, where sharks go and why they go there. Satellite tags and acoustic telemetry allow for scientists to study migration patterns and shark behavior. This leads to further conservation zones being designated for highly migratory species.

It is important to not only understand shark migratory patterns, but to also identify nursery areas where sharks go to give birth. Marine protected areas (MPAs) must be established to protect these nursery areas so that the young sharks have a chance of surviving to adulthood.

Both satellite and acoustic tags can be equipped to record depth, temperature and location information. This kind of science requires a tremendous amount of money, and this money is usually not available unless the end results could lead to useful applications and profits. Research into sharks for their own sake is more difficult to fund. However, this is essential for their survival. The scientific data is needed to back-up any conservation argument.

Status of shark populations at the Revillagigedo and other eastern tropical Pacific islands is unknown, although evidence indicates heavy exploitation by fisheries. The Revillagigedo project includes a telemetric study of several species of sharks to determine their movement patterns, connectivity and residency and a shark censusing program to examine population size and dynamics in the Revillagigedo Archipelago and other islands in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). This information is necessary to understand the behavior, ecology, and population state and dynamics of sharks, which will constitute baseline information to implement a management strategy for the conservation of sharks in the region.

• Analyze daily movements of individual sharks and determine the degree of residency at each island
• xamine movements of sharks between islands to establish connectivity and migratory routes or corridors
• Determine the existence of connectivity with the southern ETP to ascertain the existence of long-distance migratory corridors in the ETP
• Determine shark population size and dynamics

• Deploy and maintain listening stations at the Revillagigedos
• Tag sharks
• Download data and redeploy listening stations
• Undertake periodic visual censuses by divers to obtain an index of relative abundance

Checkout our other group trips!