The Dorsal Fin

National Geographic’s Expedition Great White premieres tonight at 9pm on the National Geographic Channel. However, you don’t have to wait tonight to get a sneak peek. National Geographic has made the episode “First Bites” available on Expedition Great White YouTube page (the episode is embedded below).

Expedition Great White focuses on a research team, headed by researcher Dr. Michael Domeier, whose goal is to gather tracking data on great white sharks at Isla de Guadalupe (filmed in the fall of 2008). Domeier’s team uses a catch-and-release technique to SPOT (Smart Position or Temperature Transmitting) tag great white sharks in order to provide researchers with real-time tracking information. After hooking and bringing in a white shark using a rod and reel, the shark is then brought onto a platform and raised out of the water in order to have a satellite tag attached to the shark’s dorsal fin. In addition to attaching the SPOT tag to the white shark, samples were also taken from the shark for research efforts.

Unlike traditional pop-up tags that report data after detaching from the shark and surfacing, the tags that Domeier’s team uses in Expedition Great White reports real-time data whenever a tagged white shark surfaces. The tags are expected to be able to transmit for six years.

Domeier’s catch and release method drew some criticism last year after an incident at the Farallon Islands, in which a hook was stuck in the mouth of a captured great white shark, requiring that the hook be cut with part of the left stuck in the shark’s mouth. However, Domeier’s team has since reported that the shark’s tag is still reporting data, and the shark is in good health.

While elements of Domeier’s methods may seem questionable to some, the results of his efforts in terms of producing real-time data could prove invaluable in terms of gaining knowledge about white shark behavior. Personally, I can find merit with both sides of the argument. I expect that the airing of the Great White Expedition series will drum up the debate once, again, and it will likely bring up interesting arguments both for and against Domeier’s techniques.

Updated tracking data from Domeier’s tagging efforts can be viewed at MarineCSI.org (click on the small map image for a larger view).

I really like the second half of the video clip above from NatGeo Wild. It’s actually rich with information about how sharks locate meals. It also educates the audience about ampullae of Lorenzini, and the hammerhead shark’s unique head shape.

Unfortunately, the first half of the video contains ominous warnings about humans and hammerheads being on a “collision course,” because they happen to occupy the same body of water. This is followed by some relatively graphic “attack” footage that seems to be forced into the segment, as it really has nothing to do with the narrator’s discussion of the hammerhead shark. In fact, not long after the second instance of faux shark attack footage, the narrator asserts that the scalloped hammerhead sharks in question “don’t appear to look upon humans as a potential meal.”

The video does go on to redeem itself after the unnecessary “attack” footage, but it makes me wonder why the clip has scenes of panicking victims and bloody water, in the first place. I also question why the information describing the video refers to the hammerhead as a “vicious shark” who “never lets a human get between it and a tasty meal,” when the main theme of the video speaks to the contrary.

I’ve enjoyed National Geographic’s offerings ever since I can remember, and it was a National Geographic feature on white sharks that first piqued my interest in sharks when I was barely old enough to read. It makes me wonder if a young child were watching this clip whether they would be more likely to remember the worthwhile information in the second half of the clip or the scenes of an implied shark attack.

Kids, don’t try this at home (or while vacationing in Mexico)…

National Geographic recently posted the video above to their YouTube channel which features cameraman Nick Caloyianis being charged and bitten by a bull shark, after researchers attempted to attach one of National Geographic’s Crittercams to the animal. Upon being stuck with a barb, the bull shark escaped the Crittercam crew and began to swim away, when a fisherman attempted to hook it in the mouth. The shark appears to have previously sustained some serious injuries to the side of its jaw (there appear to be two hooks visible in the shark’s flesh in one of the close-up shots) that the fisherman was attempting to hook. Upon being hooked, the shark turned around and swam toward Caloyianis, biting his leg and eventually his hand. Fortunately, Caloyianis made a full-recovery from his injuries.
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The official National Geographic YouTube Channel posted a video today documenting a rescue effort to help an injured sand tiger shark. The approximately 10′ (3m) female sand tiger had a fishing gaff embedded in her throat.

While the video itself plays on the drama and danger of the situation, it still manages to do a fairly good job of avoiding portraying the shark in a negative manner. Unfortunately, it seems that whoever wrote the description of this (otherwise shark-conscious) video simply could not resist the urge to add some negative hype. The video description currently reads…

A rescue team performs emergency surgery on a MAN-EATING Sand Tiger Shark – but they have to catch it first.

Is it really necessary (or even accurate) to refer to a sand tiger shark as “man-eating?” Sand tigers are generally regarded as being non-aggressive around humans and simply do not have a history of being “man-eaters.” While this kind of over-the-top hype seems commonplace among The Discovery Channel’s recent shark-related programming, I still expect better from National Geographic.