GPS World, August 2015

Tracking NATURAL RESOURCES CHRIS FISCHER HELPS TAG KATHARINE a 14 foot 2 inch 2300 pound great white on Sept 17 2012 Katherine cruises the East Coast of the United States Before the shark tracking project We lacked the critical data on our large apex predators life history We didnt understand where they were mating where they were giving birth and these large complicated migrations that they make Fischer said Pulling a great white shark from the water long enough to tag it was a daunting hurdle that OCEARCH overcame by bringing together professional mariners ocean experts and the academic community to solve the problem The answer is a hydraulic lift system designed for shark tagging installed on the M V OCEARCH research vessel Once a shark is on the line its maneuvered into a custom hydrauic lift The 75000 pound capacity platform is designed to safely lift mature sharks for access by a multi disciplined research team who rush to conduct about 12 studies within 15 minutes before setting the shark free The shark is guided by hand in the water on and off the lift Once OCEARCH figured out how to capture and tag the sharks the organization invited multiple institutions to share the data We decided to open source the data and give the tracking data away so that the world could track the sharks and be involved in the project at the same time as the Ph D s And thats where the Global Shark Tracker really came about it was including the world in solving this puzzle in real time in this journey The M V OCEARCH now travels around the globe to help the scientists who study our oceans giants explode their knowledge forward as fast as we can Fischer said So we have the critical data we need to keep these balance keepers these lions of the ocean our large sharks with a bright future The long term goal is gaining a clear picture of the sharks needs so that the oceans can be properly managed Theyre the fundamental building block of the future of the ocean If we dont understand our apex predators the top of the food chain if we dont understand how to manage them toward abundance then we cant manage the whole system toward abundance Fischer said More than 50 of the worlds leading institutions and more than 80 ocean scientists are involved collaborating and sharing data a different paradigm from the classic way researchers work We realized quickly the old institutional way of researchers holding their data close to the vest and not sharing it with the world trying to get ahead of one another to get papers published wasnt really effective for creating a movement and awareness around the future of the ocean at scale Fischer said Information on where and when sharks swim and migrate can be leveraged for public safety Fischer said Once we solve the puzzle of the migrations the sharks then repeat the migrations to the same areas at the same times of the year It allows people to get the rhythm of their lives and understand when theyre passing through their areas and when theyre there and when theyre not The sharks are tagged accelerometers and with SPOT trackers from Wildlife Computers short for Smart Position and Temperature Tag Data from the accelerometers show that the animals regularly recover and start swimming strongly within 2 4 hours after release Data from the Global Shark Tracker provides strong evidence that the animals tagged show long term survival and long distance migrations indicative of normal function and reproductive cycles www gpsworld com August 2015 GPS World 29