nurse shark – Page 5 – Shark Research & Conservation Program (SRC)

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Starting the semester off strong

February 2, 2012/1 Comment/in Shark Research /by aanstett

1/29/12

Our first weekend of trips for the semester ended with a beautiful day off the coast of Key Largo with RSMAS PhD student Rachel Silverstein and her friends and family. The day started with overcast skies but that didn’t stop the group from showing their excitement for the day of shark tagging that lay ahead. After explaining some to the group why we study sharks and some of the different aspects of RJD research, we headed offshore to set our first ten drumlines. The first set turned up two very large and feisty nurse sharks! The team and visitors got to work taking a tissue sample from the fin, measuring the animal’s length, and fitting each animal with dart tags.

Not a Very Sharky Day

February 1, 2012/0 Comments/in Shark Research /by aanstett

1/28/12

The University of Miami’s research team traveled to Key Largo to jump on Captain Slate’s boat for a hopeful day of shark tagging. A group of eager sophomores from MAST high school joined us on our expedition. It was a beautiful, sunny, and clear day; the water was clam, and it seemed like our odds were in our favor to catch a jubilee of sharks.

Daniela, Julia, Evan, Fiona, and I, led by our fearless leader Austin, released the first ten drumlines. After pulling in a couple lines, we got our first catch of the day! A large adult nurse shark was brought on board. The MAST high school students were delighted to conduct research, interact in the sampling process, and observe a shark so close up and personal. Everyone on the boat had high spirits and was ready to tag more sharks.