The Dorsal Fin

The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary has recently posted a draft environmental assessment to analyze the impacts of issuing a permit to Dr. Michael Domeier of the Marine Conservation Science Institute, which would allow the tagging of 11 additional great white sharks (3 males, and 8 females) within the marine sanctuary, using the catch and release method that has been featured on National Georgraphic’s Expedition Great White.

Dr. Domeier was issued a 1-year permit in September of 2009. During the 2009 white shark season, he and his team used the catch and release method to tag 2 male white sharks at the Farallones. However, a bit of controversy stirred up when one the tagged sharks was hooked in the esophagus, and the circle hook had to be cut and left in the shark. According to the draft environmental assessment, “the public and members of the other research teams studying white sharks in the region were concerned that the shark had died and that the tagging was being conducted primarily for a National Geographic television program.”

It should be noted that the hooked shark made its normal migration pattern after the incident, according to data supplied from the tag, and that the tag was still reporting normal data 8 months after it was hooked. (see Southern Fried Science’s interview with Dr. Domeier)

Supporters of Dr. Domeier’s SPOT tagging methods argue that this research provides invaluable data, which cannot be gathered using other methods, and that the data could be beneficial to the species. Those who oppose these tagging methods argue that the potential gains simply do not outweigh the risks.

Regardless of which side of the fence you might be on, if you have genuine interest in this topic and are willing to read the environmental assessment draft, the GFMNS is open to your comments. Comments should be submitted to Carliane.Johnson@noaa.gov until October 12, 2010.

Tomorrow night, CBS will be airing an episode of “CSI” with a plot revolving around a “shark attack” in a pool at a Las Vegas casino. That’s right, a shark attack in a swimming pool. No, seriously. At least, the effects in the scene above are a little bit of a step up from some of the efforts that SyFy has been airing, as of late. However, the idea of a shark maneuvering through a shallow swimming pool filled to the brim with people partying and then attacking a bather isn’t much less ridiculous than dinosharks or sharktopuses.

While the depiction of the shark, seen in the clip above, certainly does nothing to dispel the misconception of sharks as “mindless killers,” it’s hard to judge how the episode, as a whole, will portray sharks. The information about the episode provided by CBS notes that the investigators must determine if the “killer is human or shark.” Maybe, the shark was framed.

WAVY.com is reporting that local shark experts “almost certain that it was a shark, maybe even two” that bit surfer Caleb Kauchak, last week.

According to the report, Dr. Jack Music, Professor Emeritus at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is “certain it was a shark” and is “reasonably sure” that it was either a blacktip or spinner shark involved in the attack. Music has studied sharks for over forty years and has investigated previous attacks in the Virginia Beach area.

Speculation has run rampant in various media reports about what species bit the teen. The most recent WAVY.com report noted that there was speculation that the wounds could have been caused by bluefish, while an earlier WAVY.com report (seen above) mentioned a bull shark or sandbar shark as possible suspects.

So far, eight great white sharks have been successfully tagged in Cape Cod waters this season.

Cape Cod Times is reporting that Dr. Greg Skomal tagged the eighth great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) of the summer, in the Cape Cod area, earlier this month. This season, five white sharks have been tagged with satellite tags and three shark have been tagged with acoustic tags. The tags are expected to provide information about where the white sharks travel, how long they stay in a particular area, and their movement patterns based on seasons and tides.

According WVEC 13 News the species that bit a teen surfer off the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach has still not been identified. Paramedics believe it was a species of shark that bit Caleb Kauchak on the knee and ankle. However, it seems that confirmation of the attacking species based on bite marks has yet to be made.

Dr. Chip Cotton of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences was interviewed by 13 News and speculated that the attacking species could have been a spinner shark chasing bait fish. However, it seems that Dr. Cotton was merely being interviewed as a shark expert for the report, as he later states that “whoever is doing the investigation” will be able to distinguish species bites based on the upper and lower bite patterns.