Caroline the Hammerhead, added to the family of sat tag sharks!
“Thank God it’s Friday,” is what most of us were thinking as we set out on April 16th. With South Broward High School, all of us from the shark program, and a few special visitors, the energy on the boat was ridiculously high! Curt’s wife Kelli, along with several other members of their family, including Curt’s dad and Kelli’s niece, Sophi were along for the ride. It is always interesting to meet the characters who spawned and raised the ones we love!
Kelli, Captain Curt, Sophi, and Dr. Hammerschlag getting ready for a sharky adventure. (please click to enlarge)
Anyhow, we headed out into Everglades National Park, where we were hoping to bring in a big catch. I think even the dolphins we met along the way knew we were on a mission. One of the dominate male dolphins even displayed an aggressive tail slapping fit as if to say, “You want a piece of me?” Needless to say, we made it past the pod of dolphins unscathed. As we arrived on site and put our drumlines out, we decided that our signature Hammerhead circle was in order.
South Broward High School chanting the hammer dance, trying to bring us hammer luck! (please click to enlarge)
Some may think that our little traditions and superstitions are silly, but I think when we pulled in our first drumline to find a 12 ft great hammerhead on the end of the line, we all wanted to gloat and give a, whole-hearted, “I told you so.” We put a satellite tag on her and watched her swim away and transmit for the first time! The crew agreed to name the shark “Caroline M. Hammerhead” in honor of Dr. Hammerschlag’s wife, although I think the data sheet reads “Sweet Caroline” (a clever pun on Neil Diamond’s song- get it…Neil and Caroline!- don’t worry, it took me a second too!).
Caroline, the new 12 ft Great Hammerhead getting ready to be added to our family of satellite tagged sharks! (click to enlarge)
Caroline, swimming away with her new satellite tag, now let’s track her!
After we watched our HUGE first catch dip under the surface again, we moved on to the rest of our drumlines. A few lines later, we snagged an amazing Lemon shark and pulled him onto the boat to measure, tag, biopsy, take a finclip and blood sample; and for the first time, quickly sketch our catch (thanks to Sophi!). As we slipped our Lemon shark back into the water, however, one of our crew members seemed less than pleased…Sophi couldn’t understand why we would name our Hammerhead but not the Lemon shark we had just caught. With our 1st grader Sophi to the rescue, the Lemon was quickly dubbed “Larry” in honor of her Granddad.
Larry the Lemon, named by Sophi, a 1st grader who came to witness the awe of sharks. (please click to enlarge)
Dr. Hammerschlag, Ashley, and Sophi posing for a picture with Larry the Lemon. (please click to enlarge)
Sophi decided that Larry the Lemon deserved his own portrait, and so she gave him one! (please click to enlarge)
After we watched our new friend Larry the Lemon swim down through the water, we were really excited to see what the rest of our lines had in store for us. Although we continued to pull up empty line after empty line, the Hammerhead and Lemon were proving to be enough to keep our spirits high. As we pulled in the next drumline, we noticed that the line was taught, and we all immediately jumped up to catch a glimpse of what it might be…a Nurse shark. Not many people like going to the doctor, let alone getting poked and prodded by the nurse, which is why I have come to realize that the “Nurse” shark is an incredibly fitting name for a shark that we are less than thrilled to see breach the surface at the end of our line. Nurse sharks have the reputation of rolling, which can make it more difficult for us to tag the shark. Regardless of how we feel about them, this Nurse shark proved to be quite a fighter…to the extent of breaking the monofilament of our tail rope to pieces. With one more nurse shark tagged, and one less usable tail rope, we moved on to the other side of the channel.
Dr. Hammerschlag and team releasing a nurse shark, yeah! (please click to enlarge)
We pulled in another Nurse and a few more empty lines, intermittent with a few fish traps filled with pinfish (helpful hint: never try and slide them back in with your bare feet, Virginia and I know from experience that the puncture wounds from their spikey little fins are less than enjoyable!)
It had been an amazing day of Shark research, but as we returned to Seabase, the sweet scent of fish guts, the lullaby of our boat engine, and the tossing of the boat seemed to rock us all to sleep. I for one can say I dreamed sweet dreams of the ocean, the sun, and the amazing shark Converse shoes that Sophi was rocking that day (I’ve heard talk of begging Converse to make them in adult sizes!…sorry Dom, they have refused to make a women’s 11…). It was another great day with some really amazing sharks and even more amazing company!
Coolest shark shoes ever, and no they don’t make them in adult size, so sad! (please click to enlarge)
The shark team is taking a much needed break after a hard day of shark research. (please click to enlarge)
Don’t forget, you can track our satellite tagged sharks too!
We now have 6 Great Hammerheads, 1 Scalloped Hammerhead, and BD the Bull Shark.
Please follow the link and track away! http://www.sharkresearch.rsmas.miami.edu/learning-tools/
Ashley Schenk (Shark Intern)
What an great trip this was!! The hammerhead circle works every time (Mr. Davis kept doing the bull. Maybe we should try that next time)! I’m glad Sophi was able to see her favorite shark. The pictures are awesome… i wonder who took some of them ;)… A much needed nap that was on the 60 minute boat ride back.
This trip was absolutely amazing! When stepping on board the boat I remember there was no doubt in my mind, that we were going to catch a hammer head. Little did we know, we got one on the first line. I was ecstatic we named her Sweet Caroline. I would of been fine if we didn’t catch anything else all day. After the rebate we caught that 9ft lemon and the 2 nurse sharks, it just made they day even better. I loved spending the day with my friends and the UM students. I can’t wait to go on the next trip! Thank you for all that you have done Neil and the UM students. These trips are really something to remember!
Thanks Renee! We love having your group out with us. You all are so enthusiastic, it makes it great to have you all aboard! 🙂
Hey! It’s always great getting out for a day to do something that really makes a difference! Where else would an opportunity like this ever be possible, where I could be helping out a great organization, be working on a boat with the famous Dr. Hammer, and be having fun at the same time? These shark trips are have always been fun, and leave me with quite a few lingering memories. Also, I learned that the hammerhead chant really works! I need to try that one out again next time im out there! Thank you to all our friends from UM, the Magnet Program, and SeaBase for making trips like these possible. I look foward to venturing out again really soon! 🙂
AWESOME JOB YOU GUYS!! One more added to the family! She looks like a pretty big shark too! Im so excited to go on the next shark trip! Mabye we’ll get a hammerhead too with the song.
Wow, this nurse shark looks a lot like a catfish as it comes to the skin color and the mouth shape!