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TechKnow Saturday 5:30pm ET/2:30pm PT

TechKnow 141: Swimming with sharks in the name of science

June 21, 2014 5:33PM ET

A week with scientists who track pregnant sharks in the Bahamas

Topics:
Science
Technology
Animals
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Join our expert "TechKnow" contributors Phil Torres, Shini Somara, Crystal Dilworth and Lindsay Moran as they explore new technology and its impact on our lives. Phil spends a week with tiger sharks—and the scientists who study them, working to help preserve the declining populations of these often misunderstood animals.

More about shark research

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Phil Torres with hydrophone underwater
This is the hydrophone—think of it as an electronic ear that listens for the “pinging” of the acoustic transmitters the team implanted into the tiger sharks. They put them in strategic locations and leave them there for months at a time, which provides them with a treasure trove of information on how and why their sharks are moving through the oceans.
Phil in SCUBA gear
This was my first time SCUBA diving in 10 years—they gave me a refresher course and sent me down with two very experienced dive masters. Nervous? A bit. Excited? Very. We didn’t see any sharks down below this time, more motivation to visit these guys again and get the full experience.
Phil on the platform.
Once the shark is on the platform, the team pounces. This is one of their moments they describe as “controlled chaos” – a giant shark slapping its tail around, waves pounding us, people getting tossed around.
Platform built to hold a one-ton shark
This was an experimental platform which generally worked quite well, especially for big sharks like this one. Shark and human safety are an absolute priority, so putting this pressure on the shark and securing it with ropes gets it to calm down and allows the team to swing into action and start collecting their data.
Diver with school of fish and sharks
Down below, these shark divers bring out the bait to draw the tiger sharks in close – real close. Shark tourism is booming, and can provide long-term sustainable income to regions with sharks. This is the motivation not to kill them and to actively conserve them, as sharks are more valuable to economies alive than dead.
Diagram of data captured
For every shark captured, tagged, and released, dozens of data are collected on several different characteristics. Here, the points of measurement for the morphologist on board looking at what the external physical features can tell us about shark behavior, health, and ultimately how to conserve them.
Fish used as bait for tiger sharks.
As Dr. Neil Hammerschlag says, “If you want to catch a big shark, you need big bait.” The team pays attention to detail, especially on shark safety. These hooks are rounded and designed to only hook on the sturdy mouth of the shark as it gets spit out, not on the stomach within as other hooks may do which can be damaging to the sharks.

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