“You’re the only ten I see…”

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November 12, 2010

And so begins my last weekend on the water as an intern for the RJ Dunlap program…

After the previous week, when we sampled 25 sharks in just two days, expectations were high as we set out on the water this beautiful Friday morning. We headed to our outer reef spot. Depths here range from about 125-145 feet, which calls for additional rope to be added to our drumlines.  Our usual set up consists of a circle hook on 70 feet of line attached by a hook timer and swivel to a 30-pound weight, with only 100 ft of rope connecting the buoy (that we use to relocate the weights after their deployment) and the weight. The swivel allows for sharks on the line to continue swimming. This is important because many of the sharks we catch around the Florida Keys are ram-ventilators, meaning they must keep swimming to pump water over their gills in order to breathe. The hook-timer is a device that pops to start a clock when something has pulled on the hook and thus can tell us how long a shark has been on the line. We put 3 sets of 10 drumlines out each day.  I won’t make you do the math, but by the end of the day, we had pulled up 6,000 feet of rope.  It’s a good thing we had a group of eager “locals” from Coral Shores High School on the boat with strong, young muscles to help with the task… in addition to collecting data from the sharks, of course.

After the first nine lines came up empty and therefore, quickly, we were glad to have the extra hands onboard. Who knew sampling sharks could replace a trip to the gym?!? Finally, on the 10th line we had a popped hook timer. Both students and RJD staff alike were thrilled to see a beautiful 1.8 meter female tiger shark on the end of the line. With quick work by Dr. Hammerschlag, Captain Curt and the rest of the team, we got the animal safely secured and placed a satellite tag on her dorsal fin.

After all necessary data was collected, the team released the shark in great condition, but she was not about to swim away from the boat without leaving us with a gift.  As she was about to go back in the water she turned to face us and regurgitated a bit of bird feathers!  This just goes to show sharks’ diets can be varied more than you would typically think.

Upon her release, the team decided to name this shark Tennessee after a suggestion from intern Ashley Schenk, who grew up in the state (you can track Tennessee and all our other satellite tagged sharks on the Learning Resources page).  It was a fitting name for more than one reason: both interns onboard (Ashley and myself) have lived there, she was caught on drumline #ten and was tagged on the first birthday of a dear Tennessean friend of mine (Happy 1st Birthday, Emery!).

Following Tennessee’s release we pulled in 4,000 more feet of empty lines. Although it is a bit more exciting finding a toothy grin on a hook, no data is still data.  With the rough state of shark populations today we are very lucky for each animal we are able to sample.  And any day on the water that involves successfully deploying a satellite tag is a great day in my book.

One more day on the water for me!  Thanks to Coral Shores for all the muscle power and to all of the RJD crew for a truly remarkable past 6 months!

Lots of sharky love,

Rachael, RJD Shark Intern

A Great Experience

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November 6, 2010

The weekend continued as I set off down to the dock with more students.  The crew on the previous trip was quite tired and slept most of the journey down to Islamorada.  Word spread fast of success from the previous day, especially after satellite tagging a bull shark and welcoming the newest member of Palmer Trinity School’s Falcon family, Falco, whose movement can be tracked under the “Follow our Sharks” link on the Learning Resources page.

Falco being released successfully back into the water with his new satellite tag! (Click to Enlarge)

Today, everyone was awake and anxious to go fishing.  The air temperature was slightly higher and the sun seemed a bit more radiant, yet the wind continued to blow. The day started somewhat slow, allowing for extra conversation about the data and its possible interpretations. Though in no time the counting of lemon sharks began.

The first lemon of the day is brought close to the boat for measuring. (Click to Enlarge)

We were collecting valuable data and samples, and allowing the students to interact with 5 lemon sharks. The largest female measured 200 cm; the largest male, 202 cm. Even with the decline of shark populations, we were able to catch a few mature and healthy bull sharks, allowing us to attach satellite tags to them.  One was a male; the other, a female, 176 cm long that we named Fi, short for Fiona (one of the many hard working and ever involved interns).

With time in mind, we only set out 20 drumlines throughout the entire day.  As the day drew to an end we were privileged to catch yet another species, a blacktip.  This male measured 150cm, which allowed the students to see a comparatively smaller shark from the others throughout the day.  The trip ended with a total of 8 sharks and 3 species.

Students work quickly to tag a small bull shark. (Click to Enlarge)

Trips are always worth every minute when it comes to opening the eyes of our youth.  Its impact is magnified, especially when I continue to hear on the ride back how much the students enjoyed this tremendous experience and their new outlook on sharks: their importance, their threatened status, and the research being done in order to learn more about them.  To add to the students’ feedback, I feel humbled by the response and appreciation that the parents and guardians bestow on me.  I returned to school with shark burn and new students inquiring as to when the next trip would be.

For a photographers point of view, please be sure to check out Andrea’s pictures and captions from this trip at:

http://andreashank.wordpress.com/r-j-dunlap-documentary/

Until next time,

Leann Winn

(Seasoned researcher and educator)

“Can’t Stop”

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November 5, 2010

From here on out, I have decided to theme all of my blogs around songs currently in my music library. Hope you all enjoy. This current entry steals its name from the Red Hot Chili Peppers  hit, “Can’t Stop.” Why? Keep on reading….

Our first set of November trips came right as a cold front was passing through southern Florida. Despite this sudden drop in temperature, we boarded our vessel ready to go, covered head to toe in jackets and winter hats. When Captain Curt, a Minnesota native, brings a wool jacket and hat, you know the weather is a bit chilly. Due to the 15mph winds, we expected to have a pretty slow weekend in terms of shark numbers. We were wrong.

Some of the crew trying to stay warm as we wait to bring in our lines. (Click to Enlarge)

Drumline # 1 was a preview of the day’s coming attractions, as we brought in a healthy and robust male lemon shark. The first set of lines was filled with lemon sharks and two bull sharks, both of which were satellite tagged. After the 8th lemon shark of the day was brought in for sampling, we couldn’t help but laugh…”its another lemon!”

In fact, the day went on in a similar fashion….13 lemon sharks…we “couldn’t stop” catching sharks. The team relished this chance to stay busy as the day went on, and every member of the team was needed for data collection.

Team members Josh and Fiona handle a blacktip. (Click to Enlarge)

The day was a major success, with a whopping total of 17 sharks:  13 lemons, 3 bulls and 1 blacktip. For all of the effort that goes into our trips, seeing such a high turnout of sharks quite rewarding-perhaps the slightly lower water temperature allowed the local sharks to become more active. Whatever the case, each shark was quickly and safely sampled and released back into the water.

Sharks or not, data is data. However, a day of filled with lots of shark action always feels good, not to mention putting out several satellite tags. The high number of sharks kept the entire crew busy throughout the day. After shark #17 was re-released into the murky shallows of the Everglades, we began our long trip back to the dock, during which all of our team members faded into shark research-induced comas.

Still cataloging those samples,

Austin

“Welcome to the Jungle”

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Friday, October 29, 2010

This song best describes our most recent trip to our gulf coast site near Fort Myers, Florida for many reasons. First of all, we put out three satellite tags in one day (two bull sharks and one tiger shark), and secondly because the day was filled with intensity, bumps, dives and split second decision making.

With the crisp air and Halloween season beginning to make its way to Florida, we set out to our fishing sites and deployed 30 baited drumlines over the course of 4 hours. Our first set of 10 drumlines yielded a productive collection of sharks, the first of which was a 150 cm blacktip shark. Moving swiftly to tag and sample the shark, we released it and brought in drumline # 2, which consequently had a 200 cm bull shark attached. The bull was gently brought to our sling and we immediately initiated the satellite tagging process. A few minutes later, the bull shark-named Hoover, was released back to the prey rich waters of Florida’s southern gulf coast.  The day continued to yield several healthy blacktip sharks, as well as another bull shark which we named Sandy. While all sharks we catch exhibit healthy behaviors and reflex responses, it seems as if the Fort Myers aggregations we sample always bring it a little more when we are sampling them, meaning that we need to be on our game even more.

(Click to Enlarge)

Our second set was a bit slow, likely a consequence of a slack tide, however the last set of the day brought us some very frisky blacktips and a beautiful, sub adult male tiger shark.  We named this shark Chuck, and he appeared to just begin the shift of his skin pattern from dots to stripes. We sampled tissue, fins, and blood from every shark that day. We also gathered a really interesting result from the tiger shark blood we sampled.  Although too early to make any bold claims, I am excited to sample more tigers, as there certainly may be species-specific differences in sensitivities/tolerances to angling pressure.  Tiger sharks, while very impressive to the eye, really are an amazing and unique species…..there are many questions surrounding their biology and I hope we will be able to answer some as time progresses.

(Click to Enlarge)

The day was full of excitement, heat, and intense shark action. All of the researchers that day walked away with some heavy duty battle scars from the days feisty collection of 15 healthy sharks, and I probably should have been a zombie for Halloween, because later that weekend I was covered with scrapes, cuts and bruises on both of my arms, a result of some serious tiger and blacktip shark burn.  Nothing a little Neosporin can’t cure.

Austin

3 Sharks Are Better Than None

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Sunday, October 24th 2010

 

On Sunday the RJ Dunlap program took out the South Broward High School to tag and conduct research on sharks. The water was very choppy, but the sun was shining and the temperature was warm. First the team and the high school students set out ten drumlines.




When we went back to pick up the first ones, we had caught a black tip shark. We were able to bring the shark on the boat and gather all the data that we needed for research. The South Broward High School Students were also able to get up close, touch, and gather data on the shark. Shortly after, a couple lines later, we had caught a second black tip.




After we picked up the tenth line, we decided to go to a different spot, in hopes that we would have better luck. We set out the next ten and had some lunch even though most people on the boat were feeling a little sea sick from the choppy waters. We didn’t have much luck throughout the rest of the day. However, we did later on catch a nurse shark but because they are so strong it was able to get away before we were able to pull it on to the boat. Even though we did not end up catching anything else the rest of the day, it was still filled with jokes and the sharing of information about sharks between the RJ Dunlap Interns and the South Broward High School Students. Although some people ended up a little sick from the choppiness of the water, I would still conclude that it was a successful trip. I say this because throughout the whole day we were able to catch three sharks, and in my book three sharks are better than none.

 

Written by James Komisarjevsky

St. Thomas Aquinas First Day on the Water!

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Saturday, October 23, 2010


Today was another beautiful day out on the water, and I was glad to be out.  It was my first day back in a few months thanks to paper writing.  We had St. Thomas Aquinas with us today, fifteen students and two very dedicated teachers.  We also had a guest researcher with us, Christine Paige-Ward.


Despite the potential for poor weather later in the day (which never deters the shark team), we started off on-time and with fair skies.  Our first site had a few more ripples than normal, but nothing too difficult to handle.  Unfortunately the tide was slack.  That meant that even with ten baits in the water, the scent was not going to go far.  Within that first set, we caught one blacktip shark that was about 1.2 meters in length.  The small shark was actually missing a small part of its caudal (tail) fin!  We have caught much larger hammerhead sharks in the same area which are known to feed on blacktips.  It may be that this shark just missed being someone else’s meal!

After a quick lunch and a ride to a new location, we put in two full sets much closer back to base.  While we were putting the first set in, some clouds rolled in on us and poured a little bit of rain.  Thankfully, the shark team is always prepared – we pulled out our rain gear and worked right through it.  Actually, it was a nice little reprieve from the heat of the day.  Unfortunately, the low pressure that had brought the rain seemed to have also spooked almost all the sharks away.  At least we did catch another blacktip, a little bit bigger at just shy of 1.6 meters.  We also saw a few popped hook timers, but nothing was attached at the other end of the line.


Despite a slow day and a little bit of rain, it was very fun.  As always, it is awesome getting a chance to see the sharks – even “just two.”  Thanks to St. Thomas Aquinas for coming out and helping us bring the vibe, I hope you guys had a blast.

Best,

Adam Matulik
Sr. Intern

A Steady Day with Miami AMI

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October 22, 2010

We set out on Friday with high hopes for our day of research. Because we had been coming up shy, we decided we were going to put out 30 drumlines along our site this time.  We knew we were in for a long day, but with the beautiful weather and calm seas we assured the crew that it would be great and Dramamine free trip!  Today on our trip the kids from Miami AMI joined the RJD team to help get some great shark data.



The kids put the drumlines in the water making sure they noted which numbers were there’s to insure bragging rights if their drumline was a lucky one…get a group of boys together and everything becomes a competition!  They even kissed the bait for good luck, which soon proved lucky!



First drumline, shark on the line, second drumline, shark on the line, third drumline, shark on the line.  The start of the day was proving to be a great success!



As we approached lunchtime however things got a little slow.  The team had a quick bite to eat and then resumed sharking.  After a few quiet lines, a lively lemon was pulled up.  A large female, about 6 feet was pulled onboard and the team worked quickly.  After returning her to the water safely, the next line revealed a male lemon! This is a rare find- most of the sharks that the team had been catching were female, so it was good to see that there was a male in the area. The team caught a total of 9 sharks- a combination of blacknose, blacktips, and lemons.  It was a great day indeed! As we pulled back up to the dock, our team stretched and yawned, sighed and smiled at the thought of our long day and great success.

Blue Skies and Bliss

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[Sunday, October 10, 2010]

Today was another beautiful day in Islamorada. The sky was nearly cloudless and the water was crystal clear. We had a great group on board, a truly collaborative mix of individuals ranging from RJD interns to students. One of the most exciting aspects of the day was having our two new interns, Kyra and James, with us for the first time. It is hard to get into the swing of things at first, but they did a great job of embracing their new tasks and taking constant direction. Dr. Jeff Hartog was also on board for the first time, taking pictures of the RJD shark team and students at work.

James and Kyra hard at work wrapping up line extensions for the drumlines. Click to enlarge.

Palmer Trinity School was on the water with us today and as always they were an enthusiastic group, eager to participate in all of the work. They always come prepared to learn, to get dirty, and to hopefully see some amazing sharks.

Palmer Trinity students and RJD interns. All smiles. Click to enlarge.

We started the day at our outer reef site, but eventually had to relocate to Hawks Channel due to a strong current. While at the reef we caught one small nurse shark. The shark was brought on deck and was worked on efficiently and safely. All of the students were given the opportunity to touch the shark and to perform a given task for data collection. After the shark was released, we relocated and reset the drumlines. While giving the sharks ample time to find our bait, we all went for a swim. It was such a perfect way to take a brief break, relaxing in the aquamarine surroundings.

Beautiful skies, beautiful water, and a beautiful swim. Students and RJD shark team enjoy a dip. Click to enlarge.

After the swim we returned to the boat for drumline pick-up. We were happy to see 2 more nurse sharks, this time larger and somewhat darker in color. Of course other sharks tend to be more thrilling, but seeing the nurse sharks can be equally rewarding. Their incredible strength and musculature is truly impressive, reminding us all of the evolutionary greatness of these animals. Before we knew it the day had come to a close and it was time to leave Islamorada. We all eagerly await the next time we can get out on the water and share these experiences with other enthusiastic students.

Nurse shark coming in towards the boat. Click to enlarge.

Best,

Cameron Rhodes (Shark Intern)

Lucky Charms and Smooth Sailin’

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[Saturday, October 9, 2010]

It was a great feeling to finally get back on the water with the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation program and begin another great season of shark trips! Even though I have been with the program for a year now, I still get a jittery feeling while driving down the Overseas Highway knowing that there could be big sharks in the vastness of water surrounding me.  It was also great seeing all the other interns and catching up with them. Luckily today we had a new school with us, Troy Academy, so there was a new buzz of excitement about what the trip would entail for them. We also had a special guest on the boat with us this weekend- our lucky charm Sophi!! With the combination of Sophi and a new school, we were bound to have a successful day bringing up some ginormous sharks!

Students from Troy Academy ready to set out a drumline. Click to enlarge.

Trying to get the students involved took some persuasion aka some interns (don’t worry, you guys will remain nameless…) kissing the bait and playing with it, but they were quick to jump up at the opportunity to bait the hooks and put out the drumlines. Once the drumlines were in the water, the infamous “10 DRUMLINES IN THE WATER” chant was said and then, of course, it was time for something we all look forward too- lunch!

Interns show the newbies how we really get all our sharks. Click to enlarge.

Almost ready for the pick-up, we had Sophi lead us in a shark “meditation” which includes calling out to our favorite sharks-lemons, bulls and hammerheads! When we got to the first drumline and brought it up, we noticed the hook timer had popped (meaning that something was on the line) and sure enough we had our first shark of the day- a male blacktip that was 145 cm in total length. The students were quick to work on getting all the samples and before we knew it, the shark was in good conditions swimming back in the water and the drumline rebaited. Hoping that this was a sign of more sharks to come, we got to the second drumline and noticed its hook timer was also popped. Could we go two for two? You bet we could, this time bringing up a female blacktip that was 156 cm in total length. The good fortune continued as the third drumline held a female blacknose, the smallest of the day’s catches whose length was around 116 cm. Although we were going three for three and riding high with excitement, the fourth and fifth drumlines did not bring anything. But we did find some algae that Austin had fun with….

Fun, yet still not as fun as our beloved. Austin and his algae. Click to enlarge.

Feeling a bit down after nothing in the second set, we got a bit of a pick me up in the form of some awesome shark cookies thanks to Sophi (they were absolutely delicious…keep up the good work Sophi!!) And the cookies and our good luck charm did not disappoint us. On the final drumline of the third set, we were able to get the largest catch of the day, a feisty female lemon that was 215 cm in length! We were able to get all our samples and released her in excellent condition. The fourth and final set brought us our final shark of the day, a 144 cm long male blacktip.

Troy Academy student calling back the ID# off the spaghetti tag for verification to the person recording data. Click to enlarge.

I would say that overall it was a great day to be out on the water. The conditions were perfect, sharks were caught, new students got to experience our trips, and we were graced with the presence of the one and only shark-saving seven-year-old, Sophi! It was a great way to start the season and hopefully more amazing trips to come!

Elasmobranch love,

Julia Lampe (Shark Intern)

Nurse City

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[Friday October 8, 2010]

Though the sun was shining and the winds were light, our guest school decided not to show up for the trip today. Putting this slight setback aside and deciding to take advantage of the weather and our fully loaded boat, the shark crew (Ashley Schenk, Austin Gallagher, Dominique Lazarre, Laura Rock, and I) headed out to the reef to see what catch the clear waters would bring.

As the first trip back, for the official school year of 2010-2011, the private boat trip enabled the crew to have a nice time catching up with one another. Also, it acted as a good refresher for those whom had not been out on trips that had occurred over the summer months. A few alterations had been made to our methodologies providing for a good learning experience for all involved. On our ride out to the fishing site, Dominique held an impromptu knot tying class where we all learned how to effectively tie a bowline knot. This would be applied to larger buoys that are attached to our drumlines. Timers are now attached to the base of drumlines allowing us to accurately know just how long a shark has been hooked. The timer is triggered by the force a shark exerts when it becomes hooked onto our rigs. The pull from the shark on the rig pops a plug-like trigger on the end on the timer, starting the clock. Finally, a nictitating membrane test has been added to our list of duties when dealing with a shark. This test is conducted by squirting a bit of water on a shark’s eye to see if the membrane flickers or not. This helps to analyze how stressed the animal is.

Once on site, we noticed a commercial crab/lobster boat setting a string of traps within the vicinity of our drumlines. Unfortunately, this may have been a factor in the amount of catch we had for the day.

Commercial boat. Click to enlarge.

Out of twenty drumlines, we caught a total of five sharks. Four of these were nurse sharks and our last catch of the day was a small blacknose shark. The nurse sharks are always interesting to deal with. These animals have a tendency to roll a lot when being handled making measuring and tagging very difficult. We had two larger nurse sharks within the 6-7ft range and two medium sized ones within the 5 ft range. When the largest of the nurse sharks was along the side of the boat, she deemed to be quite the struggle. While taking her lengths she decided to go into a rolling sequence entangling herself in our measuring tape. Also, as she was rolling her tail flung up and slapped me in the face. This action definitely provided some good humor for the situation despite my sore cheek.

Rambunctious nurse shark. Click to enlarge.

On the other hand, the blacknose was quite the pleasure to work with and was about 3 ½ ft in length. His small nature was defiantly reinforced when dealing with the water pump. His mouth was almost too small to open up and over a pump that many other sharks seem to inhale. Notice in the picture below how the shark has to bite the side of the pump where the holes are in order to allow the water intake, instead of inserting the pump directly into its mouth.

Small blacknose shark. Click to enlarge.

Though the sharks may have chosen to ignore us, a hermit crab decided to say hello. After hauling in a heavy drumline, Ashley was surprised to see a monstrous hermit crab sitting on the end of her line. This newfound creature helped create a lightened atmosphere as we motored home to the dock.

Ashley and her monstrous hermit crab. Click to enlarge.

Happy Sharking!

Katie Sellers