Tagging

The schools have finally started coming back to camp. This is amazing for me, because I've been getting really bored at work since I'm not teaching. I've only had one school group so far. They were fifty seventh graders, split up into five groups. It's a nice change-up also, because we teach differently than we do in the summer since they're only here for 3 days.

This group got an extra special treat. We had just caught 2 nurse sharks the day before, so we tagged the sharks while the students were watching. I've tagged sharks before, but this time someone took pictures for your viewing pleasure.

After Stephan (who is pictured helping me in all of these pictures) scoops the lovely pretty shark out of the holding tank, we have to measure it and check to make sure it looks healthy. We look for obvious signs like scarring or parasites and for more subtle signs about the sharks health.

After looking on the dorsal side, we flip her over to check for these signs on her ventral side. Also, I open her mouth (with a tool, not my hands!) and check to be sure her mouth looks good. She seems very healthy and has plenty of rows of teeth.

When all of this has been recorded, I begin to actually tag the shark. I start by making a very small incision next to her primary dorsal fin. Sharks heal so quickly that there will be no visible sign of the cut after only one week.

Next, I insert the tag.

In this picture, you can see the actual tag a bit better. It's small and yellow. Not large enough to interfere with the sharks swimming or hunting, but obvious enough that if the shark is captured, the fisherman will notice the tag and be able to contact the number/address on the tag with the information requested as well as the shark's whereabouts.

When all of this is finished, the shark is weighed and released. I know what you've all been thinking, isn't this a long time for the shark to be out of the water? No, she would be fine out of the water this whole time, but still we pour plenty of salt water on her. Also, you may have noticed that she's covered up quite a bit in some photos. Covering their eyes helps to calm them down and proves to be much less stressful on the animal.