Research Fund 26/01 :: Kathryn Ayres

Congratulations to Kathryn Ayres, Research Scientist at Beneath The Waves and Pelagios Kakunja, who received 500 euros from our Flying Sharks Research Fund to support her registration for Sharks International 2026.

Kathryn recently wrapped up her Ph.D., where she used drones (the good kind) to monitor enormous blacktip shark aggregations along the shoreline of Cabo Pulmo National Park, Mexico – sometimes numbering in the thousands. Not a bad office view.

Cabo Pulmo is one of the world’s great marine conservation success stories. After the local community made the bold move from fishing to ecotourism in the 1990s, fish biomass increased by more than 400%, and – surprise, surprise – the big predators came back.

Kathryn’s work has already delivered some jaw-dropping results, including the first documented cases of killer whales preying on sharks inside the park, followed by clear shifts in shark aggregation behaviour. This research has since evolved into Shark Watch (@sharkwatchbaja), a long-term monitoring program that trains and empowers local women to run drone-based shark surveys themselves. We love that part.

All data are shared directly with park authorities, helping guide conservation decisions at a time when Cabo Pulmo is facing growing pressure from nearby coastal development.

We were very happy to chip in 500 euros to help Kathryn take this work to the international stage and join the global shark science conversation.

Well done, Kathryn — and keep up the excellent work!