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The Library => Haley Center Basement => Topic started by: Snaggletiger on June 08, 2012, 03:41:09 PM
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Long article. Just suffice it to say, they caught a 1,000 pound Bull Shark in the Keys. They're already one of the most aggressive sharks on the planet....but now they can reach 1,000 pounds??? Copied and pasted from Fox News
For scientist Neil Hammerschlag, it was just another Sunday. He was out cruising the reefs near the Florida Keys, hunting for sharks — not as trophies, but for research aimed at keeping them out of display cases and in the water. In many places, these iconic predators are disappearing.
A research assistant professor at the University of Miami, and the director of its R. J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program, Hammerschlag spends every other weekend in southern Florida dragging baited, shark-safe lines behind a boat, hoping one of his research subjects will take a bite.
When he and his team catch one, they outfit the shark with either a satellite tag or an ID tag, take tiny samples of muscle and fin and a vial's worth of blood (they check to see if the shark is pregnant), then send the shark on its way. The whole process takes about five minutes.
'We didn't know if we were pulling up a sunken boat, a monster shark, or a school bus.'
- Neil Hammerschlag, director of R. J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program
On Sunday, May 27, they were having plenty of luck. Something snagged the other end of the 75-foot (23-meter) line, and Hammerschlag began to pull it in. Right away, he said, he could tell something was different.
"It's a lot of work to bring up a line, but I can usually do it myself," he says. This time, he needed help.
He and a colleague joined forces. "We didn't know if we were pulling up a sunken boat, a monster shark, a school bus — we had no idea which it was," Hammerschlag told OurAmazingPlanet.
They were in about 150 feet (46 m) of water, and, even as the two men strained to pull in whatever it was, it remained invisible, hidden by the murk of the shallow ocean.
"As soon as it came to the surface, it literally took my breath away, it was so big," Hammerschlag said. They had hooked a massive bull shark, the region's top predator; the shark was about 10 feet (3 m) long and, the researchers estimated, over 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms).
"It's one of the biggest bull sharks I've ever caught, and it's the biggest bull shark I've ever tagged," Hammerschlag said — and he's tagged more than 1,000 sharks. "When this guy rocked up, it just took my breath away."
Iconic predators
It turned out it was, in fact, a lady. Like many other shark species, female bull sharks are larger than males. But bull sharks of either sex are nothing to be trifled with. Like great white sharks and tiger sharks, bull sharks have serrated teeth — an accessory that allows them to rip and tear apart their meals, which means they can go after far bigger prey than smaller shark species can.
Bull sharks "have the most testosterone of any animal on the planet, so that should tell you a little something," Hammerschlag said. They also like to hang out in shallow, coastal waters.
Despite what this implies for our own species, Hammerschlag said the sharks don't specifically target people. "They possess the machinery but lack the motivation," he said.
Bull sharks are one of the three species most often blamed for unprovoked, deadly shark attacks around the world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Big threats
Yet far more commonly, people attack sharks. Their fins, prized for shark-fin soup, a traditional Chinese dish, fetch high prices. According to numbers cited by the Humane Society, as many as 73 million sharks are killed for their fins each year.
Overall, many shark species are facing steep declines. Figuring out what is driving that trend, and reversing it, is a big motivation of Hammerschlag's research. "We know a lot of shark populations are in trouble, but the question is, what is happening to Florida Keys sharks?" he said. "And if you want to be effective at conserving them, what would it take?"
Because they had run out of satellite tags — they're expensive — after taking biological samples, Hammerschlag attached a simple ID tag to the bull shark. They'd have no way of tracking the giant female. With a push, Hammerschlag sent the shark on her way. He said the experience wasn't scary.
"This is a predator like none other in the world, and it deserves complete respect and attention," he said. "If your heart doesn't skip a beat, you don't have enough respect for it."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/06/07/1000-pound-bull-shark-surprises-researchers/?intcmp=features#ixzz1xETDAdMZ
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For scientist Neil Hammerschlag
Thats my favorite part.
Then of course
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Down at the very end.
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If a shark ever bites me he's going to have sand on his belly. I'll stick to the pool, thankyouverymuch.
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Guess I'm fucked.
I love swimming in the ocean although I make a point to not do it in the late afternoons or evenings.
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Guess I'm fucked.
I love swimming in the ocean although I make a point to not do it in the late afternoons or evenings.
Or with open cuts.
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Or with open cuts.
Why do you hate women?
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A few years ago at the beach, there was a Bull Shark patroling about 25 yards off shore. The water was extremely clear that day so you could easily make him out. We walked along parallel to him for quite a ways as people ahead were warning swimmers to get out.
It was the next day that a girl was killed about 5 miles from there in I believe, Miramar Beach. Weskie may could verify. Not saying it was the same shark, just that it seems they have these periods where they decide to come in and wreak a little havoc. A couple of days later, a guy was killed while fishing down at Cape San Blas, which is probably about 50 miles from where we were.
The bottom line is sharks are all over the place and every time you go in the ocean, you can bet there's one probably within 50-100 yards of you. What sets them off to attack humans is something I don't think anyone really knows.
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Dayyyyum. Mini Buzz and I spent all of last week swimming with the sting rays in the gulf. Maybe that's why they were hanging out closer to the shore...
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Guess I'm fucked.
I love swimming in the ocean although I make a point to not do it in the late afternoons or evenings.
Dawn as well.
I also find it advantageous to swim near a large group of children. /nopedo.
The bottom line is sharks are all over the place and every time you go in the ocean, you can bet there's one probably within 50-100 yards of you.
A low-altitude flight along that coastline when the water is clear is a real eye-opener.
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I heard they can smell the menstruation.
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Why do you hate women?
:haha:
I'm wondering if that would be like assisted suicide.
"Hey babe, so its that time of da month huh? Have I got an idea for you. Here, take this here float and go, I don't know, about 50 yards out in the water. They say, salt water is the healer of all wounds"
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I heard they can smell the menstruation.
You hear that, Ed? Bears. Now you're putting the whole station in jeopardy.
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Going fishing tomorrow. Last year, we got on a good spot bottom fishing for snapper etc. but every time we got a bite sharks would cut it in half. Kind of sobering to pull up a 20 pound fish that's now about 6 pounds, knowing that bastard is right below you. Hey Captain, can we move to another spot?