FOR JUST THE 3RD TIME, A YOUNG WHITE SHARK
GOES ON EXHIBIT AT MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM
Earlier successes raised awareness of threat to sharks, added to
information about shark migrations
For the third time since 2004, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has placed a
young white shark on public exhibit, bringing him to Monterey on Tuesday
evening (August 28) - 24 days after the shark was caught accidentally in
commercial fishing gear off Southern California.
As with the two prior animals - white sharks that were kept at the
aquarium for 198 days (in 2004-05) and for 137 days (in 2006-07) before
they were returned to the wild - the aquarium hopes to keep him on exhibit
for several months as a way to change public attitudes and promote greater
protection for these magnificent and much-maligned ocean predators.
The young shark, a 4-foot, 9-inch male weighing 67 ½ pounds, was brought
north Tuesday in a 3,000-gallon mobile life support transport truck.
Caught three miles off Ventura by a sea bass fisherman, he had been held
since August 4 in a 4-million-gallon ocean pen off Malibu. He was feeding
and navigating the waters of the pen before he was brought to Monterey.
Through its White Shark Research Project, the aquarium has worked since
2002 to learn more about white sharks in the wild and to bring a white
shark to Monterey for exhibit. During that time, aquarium staff have
tagged and tracked 10 juvenile white sharks off Southern California -
animals they either collected or that were obtained from commercial
fishing crews who caught them accidentally. Both sharks kept at the
aquarium were tagged and tracked after their release.
The first shark, a female brought to the aquarium in September 2004, was
"the most powerful emissary for ocean conservation in our history," said
aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard. The shark was part of the
aquarium's Outer Bay exhibit for six and a half months and was seen by
more than a million people between September 15, 2004 and March 30, 2005.
In follow-up surveys, many visitors reported coming away with a deeper
appreciation of the need to protect white sharks and their ocean homes.
More than 600,000 people saw the second white shark between
September 1, 2006 and January 16, 2007, when he was returned to the wild.
The nonprofit aquarium has contributed more than $1 million since 2002 to
field studies of juvenile and adult white sharks, in addition to its
efforts to exhibit white sharks.
In the fall of 2006 alone, scientists with the Tagging of Pacific
Predators (TOPP), supported in part by the aquarium, placed 41 electronic
tags on adult white sharks off the Farallon Islands and Point Año Nuevo.
TOPP researchers have now tagged 101 adult white sharks off the Central
Coast.
The recently published tagging studies are demonstrating that adult white
sharks show a high degree of fidelity to the region. Genetic studies on
DNA samples taken from the sharks when they're tagged are also underway,
and will help to discern the connections between Central Coast sharks and
other white sharks in the western Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Data from the tags are offering new insights into the far-ranging travels
of white sharks in the eastern Pacific, according to Dr. Barbara Block of
Stanford University, a marine biologist and principal investigator with
TOPP. Tag data and published research can be found at
www.topp.org
<http://www.topp.org/> .
The aquarium continues to collaborate with the TOPP team and other
researchers to tag young white sharks in southern California waters, and
to collect DNA samples for analysis of the population structure of white
sharks in California and Mexico. Data from seven of the 10 young white
sharks tagged since the field project began in 2002 have been published in
the scientific press, documenting the sharks' use of nearshore waters in
California and Mexico as "white shark nurseries."
Aside from the two animals that thrived during their stays in Monterey, no
aquarium in the world has exhibited a white shark for more than 16 days.
In the Monterey Bay Aquarium project, collecting white sharks has been the
subject of a focused multi-year effort involving aquarium staff,
scientists and fishermen, said aquarium husbandry curator Christina
Slager. This approach, developed in consultation with a panel of
independent shark experts, is designed to minimize the stresses of
collection, holding and transport, she said.
Before bringing a white shark to Monterey, members of the aquarium's field
team monitor its behavior to see if it has adjusted to swimming in an
enclosed space. The team offers salmon, mackerel and other fish, and
confirms that the shark is feeding before an attempt is made to bring it
to Monterey.
The aquarium's 1.2-million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit was designed for
pelagic (open ocean) animals like white sharks. It is home to Galapagos
and scalloped hammerhead sharks, as well as large bluefin and yellowfin
tuna, barracuda, sea turtles, ocean sunfish and other species.
With the first two white sharks, visitors saw the animals face-to-face,
and learned about shark conservation issues in conversations with staff
and volunteer guides; through an auditorium program devoted to the white
shark project; and through exhibit graphics that specifically address the
threats facing white sharks. Similar programs are in place for the new
arrival.
"I can't overstate the impact of this single animal on advancing our
mission to inspire conservation of the oceans," Packard said of the first
white shark the aquarium had on exhibit.
The aquarium is open daily through Labor Day from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and
on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (through September 2).
Starting September 4, regular aquarium hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
daily.
Web visitors can see the shark online via the aquarium's streaming Outer
Bay web cam from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily (Pacific time), at
www.montereybayaquarium.org <http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/> .
(Specific link:
http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_hp/hp_obw_cam.asp).
White sharks are in decline worldwide, in part because they're slow to
reproduce and because of growing fishing pressure that is decimating all
shark species. Their fearsome reputation has also made them a target of
trophy hunters and the curio trade.
White sharks are protected in California and other U.S. waters, as well as
in South Africa, Australia, Mexico and several other nations. In October
2004, white sharks were granted additional protection by the 166 nations
that are parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES).
The aquarium encourages public involvement in shark conservation through
its "Seafood Watch" program, which distributes consumer pocket guides to
sustainable seafood. The guides, as well as supporting materials for
restaurateurs and seafood retailers, highlight "best choices" fisheries,
including those that kill fewer animals - including sharks - that aren't
the direct target of the fisheries. Details are online at
www.seafoodwatch.org <http://www.seafoodwatch.org/> .
People who want to take a more active role can join the aquarium's Ocean
Action Team, and get action alerts about shark issues and other ocean
conservation topics. To join, visit
www.oceanaction.org
<http://www.oceanaction.org/> .
Through its Center for the Future of the Oceans, the aquarium works with
other institutions and agencies to develop the best strategies for white
shark conservation policy in California waters. It is also part of a
coalition working to establish a network of marine protected areas,
including fully protected marine reserves where fishing is not allowed,
along the entire California coast. Details are available at
www.oceanaction.org <http://www.oceanaction.org/> .
The mission of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the
oceans.