It’s been a great year for our team! Here are some of our accomplishments from 2016:

1. We published 15 research papers in scientific journals on a variety of topics

2. Two of our research papers were featured on journal covers, one in Diversity and Distributions that evaluated the effectiveness of marine protected areas for migratory sharks and the other one in Animal Conservation that reviewed shark conservation and management policy tools

3. We brought 1,061 guests from the public out with us on our boats to participate in hands-on shark research. Participants ranged in age from 10 to 70, and originated from 42 U.S. states and 42 countries across the world.

4. Our team spoke to thousands of elementary, middle, high school and college students in their classrooms about marine biology and conservation! In one day we presented to about 1000 elementary school students at Key Biscayne K8 School.

5. Our students presented at international scientific conferences, including 6 talks at the American Elasmobranch Society annual meeting that was held this year in New Orleans

6. Our research was featured in various media, including Discovery Channel’s Shark Week (Tiger Beach and Air Jaws: Night Stalker) as well as in National Geographic’s Shark Fest (Mega Hammerhead).

7. We conducted 80 field research trips and measured, sampled, tagged and released 358 sharks of 12 different species!

8. The smallest shark we tagged this year was a 75 cm nurse shark and the largest was a 396 cm great hammerhead.

9. Our director Dr. Neil Hammerschlag gave a radio interview on NPR’s Fresh Air about sharks that was heard by millions of people.

10. We deployed 27 satellite tags on sharks! You can track all of our satellite tagged sharks online here! Special thanks to all the generous people who adopted sharks!!

11. We launched a new project in collaboration with Beneath the Waves and supported by Oceana in partnership with Google and Skytruth to utilize a first-of-its kind combination of satellite tagging and real-time mapping of fishing vessels on the high seas via Global Fishing Watch

12. Our team proudly exhibited in public events, including Taste of the Sea, Art Walk Miami and the Tortuga Music Festival!

13. Our tiger shark research in the Bahamas was included in a story in National Geographic Magazine

14. We partnered with the amazing brand Hook & Tackle on our new official team performance field shirts. They are now available for purchase online and through select retailers

15. Our Director, Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, co-founded and launched a new initiative called Digital Life, which aims to preserve the heritage of life on Earth through creating and sharing high-quality and accurate 3D models of living organisms.

16. We graduated 3 Masters Students and 1 Ph.D. Student. Congrats Hannah Calich, Jake Jerome, Alison Enchelmaier, and Dr. David Shiffman.

17. We launched our new program called F.I.N.S (Females in the Natural Sciences) to provide girls with hands-on experience in marine science as shark research volunteers with SRC.

Directed by Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, the Shark Research & Conservation Program (SRC) is a joint initiative of the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science & Policy and Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami.

Thanks to the SRC team, collaborators, and supporters for an amazing year!