MAKOPAKO
After several years in the making, MAKO PAKO emerged in 2013, it was born from the passion for the sea and for the sharks. In the beginning it involved the investment of many resources in and the exploration of places along the Basque coast, sometimes up to 30 miles offshore. It was a process of constant experimentation and over time it came to exceed all the initial expectations, managing to discover the wonders of the Cantabrian Sea hitherto unknown.
As time went by, there was also the desire to share the incredible experiences that the Cantabrian Sea offers. Diving enthusiasts and people passionate about the ocean began to take an interest in the project. It became part of the outings, to give rise to the important work that can be carried out with these outings, being a responsible way of interacting with nature and having an active role in favor of the environment.
Making sharks known as part of our fauna, bringing them closer to the population and explaining the delicate situation they are in, so that people become aware and care about these animals that are so threatened. The result of this is that we find more and more destructive fishing methods, in addition to the already high level of contamination and other pollution factors in land. All of them influence the state of the seas and oceans.
For all these reasons, it is important for MAKO PAKO to collaborate with other entities and associations, contributing to everything that is possible from our excursions, in order to work in favor of these animals achieving their protection.
This is the meeting point to connect with people who really love the ocean.
Mako Pako monitors the pelagic shark population in the Basque Country.
MAKO PAKO, providing its activity and resources as a platform, is developing a pilot project monitoring sharks in the Cantabrian Sea, with the aim of providing information on sightings of the two species we see most frequently on our trips: the blue shark (Prionace glauca) and the mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus).
Together with Catsharks and Observadores del mar, Mako Pako offers you its work and the results of these data collection, so that they can use them to carry out studies, the results of which will help us to better understand these pelagic species in our waters.
In addition to contributing to scientific activities, another objective is to demonstrate that tourism and citizen science have the potential to act as tools to gather basic information on shark populations and thus generate a new tourism model.
All the information that MAKO PAKO manages to collect on its tours will help these institutions to know the population status of these species, and in the long term, to propose management and conservation measures.
WHO WE ARE
ISAÍAS CRUZ
Isaías Cruz is a diving instructor, specialised in diving with sharks and founder of MAKO PAKO. He is also a professional photographer and cameraman, having received several awards for his underwater video and photography work. He has an artistic background after many years dedicated to design and painting.
He began his career in the diving world in 2010, collaborating and working for dive centres operating in the Basque Country, until, guided by his experience diving with sharks in different parts of the world, he introduced pelagic shark diving in Spain, becoming a pioneering project in the country.
XABIER MINA
Xabier Mina has a degree in marine sciences, with a long career in the study of marine ecosystems and their resources. He currently works as a secondary school teacher and science communicator. He is also a cameraman and underwater photographer, producing material for educational purposes.
He is a diver with more than 20 years of experience and a deep knowledge of the underwater fauna and flora of the different seas and oceans of the world. He collaborates with MakoPako as a scientific advisor and guide, documenting and compiling data that we obtain during our outings.
IN THE MEDIA
¡QUÉ ANIMAL! (TVE2)
The TV programme “¡QUÉ ANIMAL!” on TVE2, presented by Evelyn Segura, launched for its 6th season an episode dedicated to sharks, and part of that programme was recorded on one of the tours we did to locate sharks.
ESPAÑA DIRECTO – TVE
During the 2021 season, a team from TVE for the programme “ESPAÑA DIRECTO” came to Bermeo.
Here they filmed a report about the tours we carry out focused on the dissemination and conservation of sharks through their sighting.
TAUCHEN VIDEO
In mid-July 2020, Tobias Fiedrich and Patricia Guardiola, came to Bermeo to meet us and make a short video of their stay here and a report for the German magazine TAUCHEN.
TVE VIDEO
Following the sightings of blue sharks on several beaches along the Basque coast, reporters from TVE came to interview us in August 2020 for the news and asked us about our opinion on these events.
SPUTNIK
Gonzalo Wancha, journalist of the SPUTNIK news agency, echoed our activity and interviewed us together with Rafael Fernández and Gádor Muntaner, to update him on sharks in Spain and around the world.
MARCA
The sports newspaper MARCA, made this article telling the story of the passage through MAKO PAKO of the world champion photographer Rafael Fernandez, telling his experience swimming with the sharks of the Basque coast.
EL CORREO
Iratxe Astui, a journalist from EL CORREO, came to Bermeo to meet us, interview us and ask us about our activity and also about the shark sightings on some beaches along the Basque coast.
PARTNERS
