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Stephan Savoia / AP
Captain Brett McBride streams seawater over the gills of a nearly 15-foot, 2,292-pound great white shark on the research vessel Ocearch in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Chatham, Mass. A crew of researchers and fishermen are tagging great white sharks off Cape Cod in an unorthodox way. The Ocearch team baits the fish and leads them onto a lift, tagging and taking blood, tissue and semen samples up close from the world's most feared predator. The real-time satellite tag tracks the shark each time its dorsal fin breaks the surface, plotting its location on a map.
Stephan Savoia / AP
Scientists collect blood and tissue samples from a female great white shark on the research vessel Ocearch in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Chatham, Mass. Before release, the nearly 15-foot, 2,292-pound shark was named Genie for famed shark researcher Eugenie Clark. The Ocearch team baits the fish and leads them onto a lift, tagging and taking blood, tissue and semen samples up close from the world's most feared predator. The real-time satellite tag tracks the shark each time its dorsal fin breaks the surface, plotting its location on a map.
Stephan Savoia / AP
Researchers screw satellite and acoustic tags onto the dorsal fin of a great white shark on the research vessel Ocearch in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Chatham, Mass. Once released, the tags will track the location and speed of the nearly 15-foot, 2,292-pound Genie, named for famed shark researcher Eugenie Clark.
Stephan Savoia / AP
Ocearch Captain Brett McBride, right, and Co-Captain Jody Whitworth tie strips of fish to a reinforced cooler containing whale blubber in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Chatham, Mass. The cooler is attached to a cage containing whale blubber on the ocean floor in hopes of attracting great white sharks. The Ocearch team baits the fish and leads them onto a lift, tagging and taking blood, tissue and semen samples up close from the world's most feared predator. The real-time satellite tag tracks the shark each time its dorsal fin breaks the surface, plotting its location on a map.
From AP : CHATHAM, Mass. - The scientists and fishermen on board the Ocearch, a repurposed crabbing vessel, received word that their scouting boat had hooked a great white shark, sparking a flurry of activity.
They were about to get up close and personal with the animal, more than 2,000 pounds and nearly 15 feet long.
"I'm nervous," said state shark expert Greg Skomal, who has tagged great whites, but never like this, never this close.
The Ocearch crew tags great white sharks in an unorthodox way. Unlike Skomal's team, which has tagged a dozen great whites off the Massachusetts coast with harpoons, Chris Fischer's Ocearch crew baits the fish and leads them onto a large platform that lifts them out of the water for tagging and collecting blood, tissue and semen samples. Continue reading this story here.
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Using a power drill to tag an animal?? And this is applauded?
Watch enough nature shows and you'll see sharks swimming along quite happily...with a big chunk of a fin or tail missing, compliments of one of their buddies.
As far as I know, fish do not have the part of the brain responsible for consciousness like humans. Therefore, they cannot be conscious of any pain.
The drill is probably the best tool for getting through the thick skin on the fins. Although I'm not so sure as hs that fish don't feel pain, I doubt they have any pain nerves in the fins.
Come on now, these people obviously aren't in this to hurt the sharks.
Makita? That's not a "power" drill.
And besides, there was no drill bit on it, just the driver...stand down KG3178
If torquing down an apparatus on the tip of the dorsal fin of an animal, pierced through - no differently than an ear tagging or branding a cow (which definitely hurts the cow), then that's what needs to be done.
The whole point is to SAVE the animal, PROTECT the animal - even better, not to EAT the animal.
Remember that as you chow down on your next burger.
I think it's important to remember that they only have a certain amount of time to safely keep the shark out of the water before it becomes inherently dangerous for the animals well being.
With that in mind, the drill lets them complete their research and tag the animal as quickly as possible. I can't imagine that the Shark doesn't feel anything, but it's not like they're going through internal organs or a sensitive area on the shark like the receptors that it uses to find prey on it's snout.
They said "semen".
Using a power drill rather than a slight incision to place a tiny chip within is disgustingly abusive and humilating to this creature of our Earth. Only ignorant man would do something like this with the rationalization of FOR SCIENCE!
This is severely wrong and poor practice when it abuses and humilates. ANd it is similar to what too many, In the name of research, National Forrest Services, Division of Wildlife bond together for abusing innocent creatures. In CO> they place HUGE YELLOW TAGS around the necks of elk to track them! Yet wouldn't it much easier to simply put a tiny chip into their neck forsuch---just as they do dogs!
Besides that Tag can and often does get caught on small branches while grazing. HORRIBLE AND DEPLORABLE ACTIONS BY THOSE IN THE BUSINESS OF SAVING THE LIVES OF THE WILD!
And what is the purpose of tracking them---tey say research but neglect that many innocent creatures are on the move for Man has invaded thier homes with oversixed building on what was once FREE LAND FOR ALL!
You've never had your ear pierced?
sillyshrinks - Chill out! It's for research so we can help save them. Good grief. Take a step back.
You do understand that populations of shark have reached a critical stage and that this is being done to help save the animals, right? If drilling a hole in cartilage is a bit uncomfortable at first, at least he's still alive and not being hung up and photographed to stoke some trophy fishermans ego.
When trying to drill through the thick cartilage of their fins a power drill is most certainly the best tool for the job. Implanting or sticking these trackers anywhere where there's meat would be painful to the animal and inhumane.
The microchips that they use for pets DO NOT BROADCAST. It won't tell you where your pet is right now, or where he's been. If you have a reader and hold it near the chip, the identification information transfers to the reader. That is useless in this application, these transmitters make it possible to track the animal's movement around the world.
Chief Brody is not happy about this program.
hs321.....How do you know they are happy ?
The equipment necessary for tracking a large oceangoing predator like a great white isn't a 'tiny chip'. There has to be a transmitter with some sort of radio signal, plus a power supply, and we haven't managed to miniaturize electronics to that level yet. Also, a shark's nervous system is pretty much concentrated in the brain and brainstem, the Ampullae of Lorenzini in the snout, and the lateral line--there are some nerves in the extremities but nowhere near as extensive as the nerves in, say, human extremities. The actual 'drilling'ad tagging would likely feel to a shark like you having your ears pierced. I think they actually did a study on that--they hooked a captive shark to a neural net and looked to see if the pain center of a shark's brain would flare on installation of a tag. It did...slightly...but not much.
Sharks don't have the higher brain functions to be capable of such complex emotions as 'humiliation'. I doubt very, very much that Shark B laughs at Shark A because Shark A has a radio tag on its fin.
They are radio collars--a collar with a radio transmitter on it that will transmit a signal indicating migratory patterns and assist with population counts.
I volunteer at at animal shelter that does microchipping so I can explain this from experience. A microchip in a dog is not an active tracking device, it's a passive one. The chip that is injected (usually under the skin at the base of a dog's neck) is a simple piece of electronics that, when a scanner is passed over them, simply shows the scanner what number the chip is and what company it belongs to. That's it. It does not track, transmit or provide any active information in any way. It is then the responsibility of the owner to register with the microchip company that the chip belongs to them, and the responsibility of the person holding the scanner to make sure the number is called into a chip company to ensure the pet is not stolen (some vet have procedures for this, many don't.) Also, many owners do not keep up with the registration, and animal traffickers who will steal animals from their owners' yards rarely get caught because the microchip doesn't send an active GPS signal (in order to do that, it would need to have its own power source, which mans battery, and that means the battery would have to be changed...and would be FAR more damaging to the animal's health.)
And those chips migrate under the skin. there is standard placement--under the skin at the back base of the dog's neck--but we have had scanners show chips that migrated down the back, down the legs, and one time an owner came to us positive that the lump she found on her dog's ribs was cancer and it actually ended up being the microchip.
And if it gets caught 'often-- how often do you hear of elk/caribou skeletons hanging by the radio collar from a tree or bush because the animal got caught? The radio collars are designed with a quick-release catch that if the animal pulls hard enough the catch will break and the animal is free to go, similar to round-the-neck keychain lanyards for humans--if it gets caught the lanyard releases.So far as I am aware, scientists have never found an elk/caribou skeleton hanging from a tree because the collar got caught in the branches and the animal was unable to free itself.
To learn more about them. To see what they eat, where they go, what preys on them, how far they travel, ho fast they travel. if a species that flourished suddenly goes into decline, we can find out if disease, predation, climate/weather, whatever is responsible--because what affects a lifeform further down the food chain will eventually affect the ape predator at the top of the food chain...us.
Gimme a break, sillyshrinks.
I usually ignore any post that contains a bunch of all caps. All caps helps you get your point across, because you can't do it using words and facts? Posts like yours are like those annoying car insurance ads on the sidebars that blink nonsense at you while you try and read online.
These people are trying to save the sharks. Or do you think they like collecting shark semen for kicks? Next thing you know, people will be complaining that the poor shark got a reach-around...
If Sillyshrinks had his way, we'd simply watch this magnificent species dwindle into extinction for noreason other than a fear of misunderstood science. The "mini chips" that we give dogs don't transmit, let alone transmit a strong enough signal to be heard at any place in the ocean. A shark, as far as I know, feels little or no pain in their fins...and even if they did, I'd think a little pain on one shark's fin is worth it to potentially save the species.
Widen your view and maybe watch a basic nature documentary before you profess outrage at scientists trying to save a species.
Oops...typo...'apex predator' not ape predator.
"disgustingly abusive and humiliating"?? Humiliating? Are we humanizing sharks now? Amazing.
Marine research tracking has always been a matter of a slight inconvenience for the animal but contributes to the greater good of species knowledge.
sillyshrinks - they don't drill for a tiny ship. The drill is used for the transmitter. A tiny cut is used for the chip. Try watching the show before you comment next time.
To find out more about this crew, watch old episodes of Shark Men on National Geographic or now Shark Wranglers on History Channel. Paul Fischer and Brett McBride have a long professional fishing history and came up with this novel way of temporarily capturing great whites so that they can be tagged and more can be done to protect this magnificent species.
What a great crew with a noble mission to help threatened great white sharks bounce back from the brink of extinction.
The crew of the Osearch has done more to advance our knowledge of this species than all of those combined that preceded them, and I applaud them for their work. Being an apex predator, great whites can not only provide information about the life and habits of the species, but can give information about the condition of their habitat, which relates directly to us considering the amount of food we extract from the oceans. Keep up the good work guys, regardless of what the uninformed masses might say.
Makes you wonder...
If the people that have been bitten by sharks and survived were just being " Tagged and Released " by them....
As a scuba diver for over 40 years and having swam with sharks many times off the reefs of a several Pacific Islands, I think anything these shark guys can do is worth it. The sharks feel little or not pain and this is for their benefit. Sharks are being killed off all over the world and this needs to stop, sharks so important to the health of the ocean, they really need to be protected.
Odd looking markings on the belly. They look like grilling marks from the barbcue.
Agreed Ed, I thought that odd as well. They're from how the shark was laying on the slatted bottom of the lift before he was rolled over on his side.
I think they correspond to the flooring on the "lift" of the boat. The shark was laying belly down, and was then rolled over, revealing the marks made by the pressure of the shark's weight against its belly flesh.
Grill marks. Thanks for the laugh Ed. Biggest shark steak I've ever seen!!!!!!!!
Don't care if that thing is asleep or not, those guys have some big ones to get that close. Awesome.
I had no problem with the fact that we could/should do better. It was the anthropomorphization and the misinformation sillyshrinks had abut how microchipping on pets works, about how radio collars on migratory ruminants works. I attempted to correct said misinformation. I don't think my post could be considered an 'attack'.
Great whites have been known to conduct attack rushes from the deep that hurl their entire bulk out of the air and then do a belly flop back into the water with the prey in their mouths. The impact of coming down in a belly flop would put significantly more pressure on the animal's insides than a gradual lift out of the water. As for the length of time--I would imagine captive sharks in an aquarium probably need to be taken out of the water occasionally for aquarium vets to look at.
Absolutely.
So would I. Keep in mind, though, that sometimes results are not immediate. Sometimes immediate results don't translate into long-term benefit, and sometimes things for which you don't see short-term benefit can wind up providing long-term benefit for everyone. only time will tell.
I know this will help us understand the 'lifestyles' of the Great White Shark and is important to science. But a part of me doesn't like to see those great creatures 'tagged' with a bunch of tracking equipment!
It's easier than using a QR code! ;->
What, do animal rights extend to privacy, now?
If we don't learn about them, we have next to no chance of saving them.
Half of the world wears ear rings. This is not a big deal. It's not like they are stabbing through their nervous system. The shark doesn't feel, nor even know it's there.
I don't worry about the pain too much. The damage they do to each other is amazing and they survive. The only concern I have about the trackers is that the wrong people can use the trackers as a technique to find and hunt the sharks. I know...it is illegal to hunt them, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't happen.
Most boats now use GPS ping to hunt. If they're in the deep water hunting sharks, they're definitely using and pinging GPS, and its a unique signal - even if they think it isn't. If they're hunting sharks, the no-longer-moving tags from culled sharks will be in proximity to their boat GPS ping; therefore, law enforcement can better and more accurately capture the poachers.
The battery dies after a certain amount of time or could be eaten by another shark.
Boogablue,
I know this is just a silly comment page for a very interesting story, but please try to be accurate. Do not spread false information. Simply reading the posts here shows how little people understand science and our world. Specifically, What is GPS PING? The device they attached to the shark is a GPS reciever, and radio transmitter. Since GPS signals from the GPS satilite network cannot penetrate water, the device only works when the sharks fin is above water. When the sharks fin is above water the GPS reciever will interpret its location on the planet, store that information along with temperature, and I imagine some other rudimentary information. Once this bank of data is full, the radio transmitter will transmit this information, and if someone with the correct reciever is near, they will get position data on the shark for X number of days or months. It may be that data will be stored for a year, until the shark returns to NewEngland where scientists will be listening for that transmission. It has little to nothing to do with poachers, or pings.
It'll be interesting the first time one of the trackers ends up in a bowl of shark fin soup. If one of these sharks ends up on a Japanese fishing boat, at least maybe they will know somebody is watching...
I wathced every episode of "Shark Wranglers" and enjoyed every minute of it. I wish more shows specifically designed around conservation efforts, like what the crew of the Ocearch are doing, for the public to watch. I don't normally watch the history channel that often and was admittedly channel surfing when I was lucky enought to stumble upon the 1st episode of this wonderful expedition. I was so sad for the shark that passed away but it was a small dark spot on an otherwise exciting series. I just want to say thank you to this crew and all the reasearchers envolved in this effort to locate and protect the breeding grounds of the majestic creatures so that we can ensure their future survival. If it wasn't for that program that was televised who knows if this expedition in Cape Cod would've even happend. I'm so glad to see that this research is continuing on, this is the best news I recieved all day.
Exactly!
If the Japanese would have shows like this showing what kind of 'research' they are actually doing on their whaling ships, I'd be more inclined to think of the Sea Shepherds as over-hyping.
As the Japanese don't have anything like this for people to look at, and the written reports provided to the International Whaling Commission have been pronounced by the international community to 'add nothing of value to man's understanding of whales', we have no choice but to conclude that the Japanese whaling ships are not performing research, but whaling in defiance of the IWC's edicts. Even the native subarctic and arctic peoples, who are allowed to hunt four whales a year, have cooperated with people who document these hunts to make sure they comply with international standards.
How the Hale will this magnificant creature procreate, i.e. maintain an erection, with that constant Beeping, beeping, beeping, bee.....? Leave it to man to screw up God's perfect creations.
Personally, I don't. But in deference to the Japanese and others who may have a different point of view, one cannot rule out any possibilities. They may be doing some form of research; we wouldn't know unless they show us. Let their peers in the scientific community decide if they are doing anything productive or not.
It only beeps when the shark's fin breaks surface.
We're gonna need a bigger boat
I'll catch this bird for you, but it ain't gonna be easy. Bad fish. Not like going down the pond chasin' bluegills and tommycods
Jaws is such a great movie.
We can radio home and get a bigger boat.
You're late with your reporting. Shark Wranglers was on TV weeks ago albeit filmed in South African waters. Interesting for a few episodes. When no one was eaten, it gotta a bit repetitive. Not sure how to spice it up without letting a shark chew on someone. Maybe a death row inmate??? (tongue in cheek) ((not really, throw a serial killer out there, what would it matter??))
Yeah, they use a cordless drill on the fin which I suspect is just cartilage and causes no harm. The process is carefully watched by scientists. The goal is for the shark to survive. They gain nothing by harming the animal.
All kidding aside....Hats off to these guys. You are great.
Global economy.
Still collapsing.
Humans eat almost anything. So when the economy collapses, we will know right where to go to catch dinner.
The human mind is so inquisitive, no collapsing economy will ever fully extinguish it.
Thanks for reminding us, Floyd.
Do you have anything relevant to say?
Yeah, if we haven't killed/eaten them all already. Shark fin soup is considered a delicacy in some countries/cultures--they catch a shark, cut the fins off, and drop them still living in the water to die--either eaten by other sharks, or because without their fins they can't keep moving and keep water flowing over their gills to breathe.
Beautiful creatures... deadly, but truly beautiful...
One gains a much greater respect for how deadly they are when you can see the scale of their teeth next to a human finger. Truly magnificent creatures.
The guy in that first picture has an almost indescribable look on his face - a mixture of awe and "I'm about to shyt myself" all at the same time.
No kidding, I would be scared stiff as well, being that close to such a huge animal. I see small sharks now and then when kayaking and I'm not really afraid, but the big ones... totally different story.
OK not to be obtuse: But WHY? There are so many pressing issues today that we have to address, that we spend...money collecting shark semen samples? I took marine biology, so I'm not uninformed, but at some point you have to say Can't we do better?
OK, ExBoston, what do you want to do? You don't think we should spend money on this endeavor, then enlighten me as to what you DO want to spend money on.
Forget world hunger, world peace, honest politicians, capable referees, movie stars with something interesting to say (!!??) - nothing is ever going to solve those problems. So if one doesn't spend $$$ on shark tagging, where can one spend it?
bobmck-751368...nicely done! I would've left out the movie stars...just because you're right...who cares? But with one "side" trying to spend the global piggy bank, and the other "side" trying to hide it for some other purpose...at some point we have to believe that spending on research will benefit us all some day (hopefully sooner than later).
"I never saw a trailer hitch on a hearse"
Why did you come here to complain about needlesss spending? At least they are trying to do something good with it. Why didn't you post this on every entertainment story, every political story? If you are going to use the "aren't there better things to spend this on" I'd respond with. "Yes, but there are far more worse things we already waste cash on...so criticize those!"
And here the post I was waiting for. If all of the world's money isn't used for something like fighting AIDS and cancer then it's useless. My friend and I just condense it to "aidsandcancer".
Apple is coming out with another iPhone? What about aidsandcancer?!
You bought coffee and donuts for the meeting? What about aidsandcancer?!
All these truck drivers collect a paycheck driving around spending money on gas when they deliver food to the grocery store who sell it to make money. That's a shame because what about AIDSANDCANCER??!!
All I can say if they're doing this to shark...what kind of "tracking" device are they implanting in HUMANs in the name of research.
Leave the sharks alone.
There was quite a negative outpouring when these clowns were on the west coast and wanting to do this to the great whites in the population that resides around the Farallone Islands and has been studied NON-invasively for years. This kind of sensationalist and invasive sampling that is rewarded with media funding and fame should be decried by serious biologists and wildlife lovers. I say this as a fisheries biologist.
Hmmm, did not know that, but still glad it's researched, to ensure their survival, although preferably in the "non-invasive" method you speak of.
It is funded by sponsors and donors, so obviously there are people out there who think it is money well spent, to ensure their survival and future. Glad to see it being done.
If you dig more deeply, you will find serious scientists have problems with such television-funded "research."
That is A LOT of sushi!
The Ocearch team baits the fish and leads them onto a lift, tagging and taking blood, tissue and semen samples up close from the world's most feared predator.
I wonder which of those lucky researchers got to jerk off the shark.
Is it too much to ask for laser beams?
Gotta love Makita! Great photo showing yet another use for their drills! :-)
Animals that large are literally suffocating and beginning to crush organs under their own weight as soon as they're out of the water. I don't see any way that this isn't bad practice for a very questionable increase in data gained. Both tagging and blood/tissue samples can be done, and more easily, with the animal still in the water. These researchers are taking unnecessary risks to get data they could secure with much less danger to the sharks.
Bad practice.
Ah. I see. They're mugging for television cameras. That explains it. Does not excuse it.
What is new about this? They just finished airing the series Shark Wranglers on the History channel which ended a few weeks ago. The series followed this same ship & team, the Ocearch, during their trip a few months ago while they were tagging great whites off the coast of south Africa. It was interesting to watch how they went about tagging the sharks. The largest one they tagged during the show was 17+ feet in length & weighed approximately 3000 lbs.
The Ocearch grew has already learned a great deal about the migratory patterns of the great whites from their Africa trip that they were not aware of. So in the long run I think their work will be very helpful in preserving these magnificent predators.
Do you really believe this has too do with perserving them? You really exemplify just how deceived those are who really believe this is something good, when in reality, it's diabolical in motive.
If they are protected from fishing mortality, as they are in California and other places in the world, then there is no pressing need to know details of their migratory patterns. If someone can find peer-reviewed scientific research papers by the people in these photos, please list the titles. TV shows like "Shark Wranglers" romanticize using invasive techniques that involve capturing large charismatic animals, but often result in little real substantive research and there are always effects on the animals themselves, often undocumented. It's mostly about media attention and being able to fund a lifestyle. White sharks are believed now to be much more intelligent than the "killing machines" they were once thought to be. Fish do feel pain, much like mammals do. This is an incredibly stressful thing to put a large shark through--they are not meant to be out of the water with all of their weight on their organs, even for short periods.
"Woe unto those who call evil good, and good evil."
This is just another example as too what the "secular" world is doing to God's creation, getting ready to place the "mark of the Beast" on them. This is only a prelude as to what they're planning on doing with humans, when they start implanting electronic chips in them, which is what OBAMACARE calls for, "Many shall be deceived", many are being deceived. Are you going to take "obamacare" electronic chip implant? Those who take the mark of the beast will spend eternity in the "lake of sulfer" for the rest of their sprititual lives. God's word does not lie, it is impossible for God to lie, it is the slitering deciever who is the father of all lies and those who follow the prince of darkness will follow it's lies, they will also share in what God is going to do to the slithering deceiver.
I wished a lot more attention was paid to the brutal practice of shark finning which is the main reason for the depletion of the shark population. Saving the Great Whites is a drop in the bucket if nothing is done about the other species. If it wasn't for the barbaric chinese and their antiquated culture that gives meaning to a tasteless soup we wouldn't have this problem. Really,if it wasn't for the chinese we wouldn't have a lot of problems and poison toys and dog treats and fake cancer drugs ect.
A total ban on shark fin soup is in order.
Semen sample? How much does the guy make who gives the shark a reach around?
I'm a scuba diver. It is very nice to see that human beings are finally willing to catch, tag, and release for study, WITHOUT thinking that everything has to be KILLED to learn about it. No matter what REPUTATION(usually exaggerated gossip) it has. Congratulations.
Yes, these are magnificent predators similar to the wolf, cougar, mountain lion, panther... Until they eat your poodle or cat everything is fine. Then they will die like the others. They save the sharks and net millions of pounds of other sea creatures in the name of cat food. Very strange.
Scientist will be the destruction of this once great planet, which they've managed to destroy with their wicked, ungodly approaches and diabolical motives to control what God has created. That said, don't let that surprise you, it's easy for the devil to deceive those who love to be deceived and think they have the answers to their very own demise. That's how willfully ignorant they are because they deny His truth and accept the slithering lies of babel.
@abccb - Chill out. I think your tinfoil hat is on a bit too tight.