The international shark research nonprofit OCEARCH was docked in JacksonvilleTuesday.
The group will depart on an 18-day voyage Wednesday with the goal of finding and tagging great white sharks along the Florida and Georgia coasts.
University of North Florida biology Professor Jim Gelsleichter is the only local researcher making the voyage.
On Tuesday, OCEARCHshark-wrangler Todd Goggins was aboard OCEARCH's 126-foot vessel. He showed off a large shark hook in the ship’s tackle room. He says the hook can withstand 4,800 pounds of pressure.
Outside on the deck, UNF's Gelsleichter says sharks are baited and hooked on a small boat and and brought onto the mother ship using a lift.
“At that point we have a hose with oxygenated seawater that will be put in the mouth,” he says. “We have running seawater over the gills of the animal to keep it in good condition, and then we have our 15 minutes’ worth of work.”
Fifteen minutes is all it takes to take a blood sample, check for pregnancy by sonogram, collect parasites and attach tracking devices before the animal is returned to the water.
Gelsleichter says for UNF’s purposes, he’d really to capture a pregnant shark to get an idea of litter sizes and gestation periods.
Three years ago OCEARCH tagged Lydia, a 14-and-a-half-foot great white, in Mayport. Expedition leader Chris Fischer says her travels have helped with research.
“Lydia has connected the dots and demonstrated that the fish that live off your shores here are the crucial balance-keepers of the entire North Atlantic Ocean,” Fischer says. “So how can we help them thrive, right? We have to solve the fundamental puzzle of their lives. Where are they mating? Where and when are they giving birth? What’s their full migratory range?”
The team’s next goal is tagging a male great white to help get an idea what shark love looks like.
