Bryan Keller

Bryan Keller

Jul 07, 2015

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How to DeHook a Shark

Whenever we catch sharks, we always try to put them back just as we found them – with no hooks . One of the first rules of shark research is to stay away from the bitey end and attempting to take the hook out clearly violates this rule. While working on the hook, the sharks usually take offense and clearly don't understand what is happening, I probably wouldn't be too keen either. As such, you have to be super vigilant when working near their teeth.

Here, Hannah Medd and I work on taking the hook from an adult bull shark (C. leucas). Working with sharks out of the water reduces the time to 'work up' the animal by an order of magnitude, and it's much safer for both parties involved- we aren't leaning over boats and the sharks aren't thrashing their heads into walls.

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About This Project

We will acoustically tag bonnethead sharks in a South Carolina estuary to investigate space use and determine if the introduction of offshore wind farms could cause environmental displacement from this area. Our work will ensure that the sustainable energy from offshore wind farms will not adversely affect the marine environment. The bonnethead is being used as a model species and the findings will be used for protecting all coastal sharks, the marine ecosystem, and provided ecosystem services.

Blast off!

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