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Not on Exhibit
Saving White Sharks
The Monterey Bay Aquarium's White Shark Project, started in 2002, is helping research and exhibit white sharks caught off the California coast. This project is promoting study, awareness and conservation of these magnificent animals, including the latest white shark, which went on exhibit in August 2009 and was released on November 4.
Great White Sharks as Ambassadors
Five times—from 2004 to 2009—the Aquarium exhibited young white sharks in our Outer Bay exhibit. Seen by millions of visitors, these animals have helped us convey their powerful beauty, and educate visitors about the threats they face in the wild. After the first white shark in 2004 drew almost a million visitors, Executive Director Julie Packard called it "the most powerful emissary for ocean conservation in our history."
Three of the sharks stayed at the Aquarium for more than four months; the most recent white shark was on exhibit for two-plus months; and one remained with us for just 11 days. All were released healthy, and carried tracking tags that indicated they were doing well in the wild.
Our research involves:
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Great White Shark Exhibit Research and Development: We're developing ways to collect and exhibit white sharks in a safe and sustainable way. This includes collecting white sharks from the wild, transferring them, improving their standard of care while on exhibit and ensuring a successful release.
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Juvenile Great White Shark Research: Juvenile "young of the year" white sharks are found each summer in the Southern California Bight and as bycatch in the fisheries of Mexico and California. Yet we don't know where they're born, who the parents are, where breeding occurs or how they join adult populations. We're studying their movement, habitats, diet, population size and how they're affected by environmental toxins.
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Adult Great White Shark Research: We're learning how to protect adult white sharks from overfishing and the effects of bycatch by studying their movement, population size and foraging patterns.
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White Shark Genetics: To conserve white sharks, we need to know more about the movement between our coastal white sharks and those of Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Genetic (DNA) studies provide clues about population structure, parentage and the origins of white shark products found in global fish markets.
The Art and Science of Tagging
In most cases, before a shark is returned to the wild, we fit it with an externally attached pop-up satellite tag with a tiny computer that collects and stores data on temperature, depth and light (used to estimate position). On a pre-programmed date, the tag pops off and floats to the surface. At the surface it transmits data to us via satellite. If the tag is recovered, even more data is retrieved. To date, scientists have tagged and tracked 18 juveniles and 167 adults.
Juvenile white shark tagging is coordinated by the Aquarium's but partners include the Tuna Research and Conservation Center (TRCC), a collaboration between the Aquarium and Stanford University; the Southern California Marine Institute; the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach; Chuck Winkler of the Southern California Marine Institute; and Dr. Oscar Sosa of Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE) in Mexico.
"Time for something a little lighter, after yesterday's horror show of shark-finning photos: Andy Brandy Casagrande IV made his mark a couple years ago with his Great White Shark Song. Good natural history, strong conservation message, plus quirky and goofy...  "
A young female white shark on exhibit since August 26 was tagged and returned to the wild shortly after sunrise November 4. It marks the fifth time that the Aquarium has exhibited a white shark and returned it to the wild. The shark was healthy and feeding at the time of release.
Information documenting where the shark traveled, how deep it dove and the water temperatures it favored will be relayed to scientists via satellite when the tag pops free. The tag data will be posted to the Tagging of Pacific Pelagics web site.
Visit the TOPP website
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