SHARK TRACKS
spotted (so to speak) on GHRITracking.org. If you check out the tiger shark tracking section on the website, you will see all of the tagged tigers. This project revealed groundbreaking information and led to the documentaries This is Your Ocean Sharks and Tiger Shark Express. Because the Bahamas turned out to be such a key migratory hub for tiger sharks, the island nation moved to protect them on July 5, 2011. Through the tracking, Dr. Shivji and Dr. Wetherbee determined that tiger sharks are as at home in the open waters of the Atlantic as they are on a Caribbean coral reef, and they discovered that tiger sharks are basically snowbirds. They winter in the warm tropical Caribbean waters and summer in the cooler waters around Bermuda. Tiger sharks are capable of returning to the exact spot after traveling thousands of miles year after year. This groundbreaking research was only made possible through the tagging of the sharks and the information generated by GHRITracking.org. OCEANIC WHITETIP SHARKS The other incredible tracking project I was a part of was tagging oceanic whitetip sharks (OWT). Probably one of the most difficult tracking projects of all. The fins of these open ocean travelers used to dot the surface of remote oceans around the world, following boats and quickly investigating anything entering their blue world. Known as the “shipwreck shark,” they are usually the first to arrive when a ship sinks on the high seas. Because of their curious nature, overfishing and bycatch, scientists estimate that these sharks have been annihilated from our planet, with populations reduced by as much as 99%. To tag OWTs, we were on the Shear Water again with Jim Abernathy, Guy Harvey, Dr. Shivji and Dr. Wetherbee. Our mission would take us to Cat Island in the Bahamas, a 36-hour voyage taking us through The Exumas, and the island of Big Spot Major, inhabited by swimming pigs. The oceanic whitetip has to be one of my favorite sharks; it is highly interactive and always right in front of your camera when filming. They are easy (in an adrenaline-packed
Bahamas
way) to work with. For these sharks, you’d attract them to the boat using Jim’s floating island of bait, and then drop in a baited hook. The shark is then pulled to the boat, and the SPOT Tag is placed on the dorsal fin. Again, these are always the hardest sharks to find and tag because they’ve been so wiped out. From the Bahamas, we moved our efforts to the Cayman Islands and worked to tag these sharks. The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation
also enlisted the help of fishing tournaments. If an angler had an oceanic on the line, they would be given prize money for turning the shark over to be tagged. It was a creative plan that allowed us to have more eyes on the water to find this elusive animal. If you track an oceanic whitetip on GHRITracking.org, you’ll see their migrations from Cat Island and Grand Cayman. Still one of my favorite sharks. GHOF.org | 87
