SOFO Presents White Shark Research

The South Fork Natural History Museum Shark Research and Education Program presented its latest findings from its Long Island White Shark study on Saturday, January 26. Greg Metzger, the program’s chief field and education coordinator led the lecture.

Metzger explained that since the South Shore of Long Island is home to the only known nursery for juvenile sharks in the north Atlantic Ocean, the need for emphasis on capturing, tagging, and releasing young-of-the-year sharks to track their movements is of utmost importance in understanding shark science. SOFO’s Shark Research Program has been specifically targeting these sharks for tagging since nothing is known of their movements at this stage of their life cycle.

During the presentation, Metzger demonstrated the tagging process and displayed the multiple types of tags, including one that contained a built-in camera. The research already compiled by Metzger’s team has been published in Scientific Reports, an online journal which publishes scientific research.

Those who attended the talk got to experience the new interactive shark exhibit, an in-depth photographic and virtual shark tagging experience, and a look at recent footage from the team’s 360 camera, which was mounted to the chum bucket set out to attract sharks. For more information, visit http://www.sofo.org.