Scalloped Hammerhead Shark

Photo: Kris Mikael Krister · CC BY

Scalloped hammerheads appear at the outer edge of La Piscinita during the January-to-March upwelling season when cold nutrient-rich water rises from depth along the Colombian Caribbean coast. They typically pass in small groups of three to eight individuals at 12 to 15 m, heading northeast along the coast during early morning dives. Their presence here represents one of the few accessible hammerhead encounters on mainland Colombia, driven by the same upwelling dynamics that make the Tayrona coast productive for all large predators during the dry season.