VNR: Tiger sharks serve as mobile oceanographers in UH research

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Dan Meisenzahl, (808) 348-4936
Spokesperson, UH Communications
Posted: Apr 27, 2020

A tiger shark in Hawaiʻi with the latest generation of satellite tags. Photo Credit: Mark Royer
A tiger shark in Hawaiʻi with the latest generation of satellite tags. Photo Credit: Mark Royer
Experts tag a tiger shark with a tracking device in the waters off Maui. Photo credit: HIMB
Experts tag a tiger shark with a tracking device in the waters off Maui. Photo credit: HIMB
The newest generation of tags. Photo credit: Kim Holland
The newest generation of tags. Photo credit: Kim Holland

Link to video and sound (details below): https://bit.ly/2VYSFnA

WHAT: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers attach satellite tags to the dorsal fin of tiger sharks to collect oceanographic data, follow movement patterns and discover their preferred habitat in Hawaiian waters.

WHO: UH Mānoa research professor Kim Holland and his team at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology.

WHERE: Waters off of Oʻahu and Maui.

HOW: When a tagged tiger shark comes to the water’s surface, the tag’s antenna will transmit the data collected via satellite and land-based stations.

WHY: To collect data that feeds into oceanographic and meteorological models, which will improve weather forecasting and provide more understanding of how the ocean is rapidly changing.

OTHER FACTS:

  • Tiger sharks are easy to work with when they are flipped over because they enter into a temporary state of inactivity called tonic immobility, making it easier to attach the tag. 

  • Tags work as small computers measuring ocean depth, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and light levels.

  • The Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System based at UH Mānoa, and the Integrated Ocean Observing System are in the process of making the oceanographic data available through the Animal Telemetry Network.  

  • Researchers prefer to work with tiger sharks so they can study their behavior and the impact on human safety. 

  • Holland hopes the research will expand to other species like blue sharks and hammerhead sharks, which travel to other parts of the ocean and have different diving patterns. 

VIDEO BROLL:  (1 minute, 30 seconds)

0:00-1:30

  • Researchers on the boat

  • Shots of tiger sharks by the boat being tagged by researchers

  • Tiger sharks being measured by the boat

  • Close-up of a tag

  • Shot of a tagged tiger shark swimming 

SOUND:

Kim Holland, UH Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, Researcher (9 seconds)
“Sharks play an extremely important role in the world’s ecosystems. So it’s really important for us to know what habitats they choose, how far they go, what their behavior is.”

Holland (14 seconds)
“So we’re trying to increase the amount of science that we can get out of these tracking experiments, by employing this new generation of tags. Which tells us not only where the shark is going and how deep it is, but also is telling us about its environment.”

Holland (12 seconds)
“So that this will improve weather forecasting, it will improve our understanding of how the ocean is rapidly changing. We can provide data on a much denser, more frequent basis than traditional oceanography can.”