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Shark Tagging update
May 2003
The AQWA Foundation is delighted to announce that the Great White Shark tagging project
has begun.
A team comprising members of CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation), AQWA and Channel Nine were recently on a boat off Bremer Bay, in the south of Western Australia. This was an area that local fishermen had suggested held the most potential for seeing White Sharks.
The team used burley to attract sharks to the boat and then attempted to attach three types of tag:
- Visual identification tag
- Pop-Off Archival Tags: Also called PAT’s, these tags record information such as swimming depth, water temperature and light levels. This information provides a crude way of estimating latitude and longitude, hence enabling calculation of the approximate track of the shark. PAT’s are programmed to release from the animal after a specified time. The tags then float to the surface where their information is transmitted to satellites.
- Satellite Tags
These tags are a new and exciting development and will provide vital information on Great White Sharks. The tags transmit data to a satellite every time the shark surfaces (roughly once every two days) enabling researchers to build a very accurate picture of the behaviour and movement of the tagged sharks.
The trip was a success and the team managed to tag a 3.5 metre female Great White Shark with a PAT – the first time a White Shark has been tagged in Western Australian waters. Information from the tag is currently being processed and results will be given to all Foundation members in the near future.
Unfortunately, the shark did not stay around the boat long enough to enable a satellite tag to be attached and, despite spending a further four days on the ocean, the team did not come into contact with another Great White Shark.
Planning is now underway for a second trip with the hope of tagging more animals, which will help build a bigger picture of this fascinating shark’s behaviour and movements.
The AQWA Foundation