Welcome to the See Them, Save Them series where we will be tracking a number of great white sharks through Ocearch’s revolutionary tagging system, highlighting the importance of conservation, research and tracking.
Every month we will create profiles for each tagged shark. By analyzing the tracking database on Ocearch’s website we will attempt to glean the shark’s habits and formulate a personality for each specimen.
Photo credit: Paul Taggart/www.ocearch.org.
Each of these profiles will be based on the research conducted by scientists on board, although our approach will take a far more humanistic turn as we try to build on the novelty of naming and tracking the sharks so excellently implemented by the Ocearch team on social media.
Ocearch’s work has been incredibly useful to conservationists and this approach has proven to increase awareness considerably amongst the general public, creating over 6 billion media impressions across news networks and social media platforms.
The initiative gives people the opportunity to monitor sharks’ behavior and follow their movements through the water and by naming them, creates an intimate attachment to each individual for observers.
The tracking device, which is inserted into the shark’s dorsal fin, transmits a signal to a satellite which “pings” every time the sharks fin breaks the water. The satellite then sends back an estimated geo location to researchers on the ground.
The process of tagging the sharks is one that requires equal parts composure and professionalism, traits the Ocearch team possesses in abundance and they handle the task with the utmost efficiency, causing minimal discomfort to the animals and providing humans with the tools needed to preserve the presence of these magnificent specimens on this earth.
Ocearch’s expeditions allow researchers access to previously unattainable data which contributes to both conservation efforts globally and public safety in areas of the world humans come into contact with sharks.
This research is then able to influence informed policy decisions among governments and ensure the best steps are taken to improve both the lives of these magnificent animals and our understanding of their behaviour.
Conservation is Ocearch’s main objective and their efforts are making a truly invaluable contribution to collaborative ocean research. The company is recognized as a global leader in the telemetry of keystone marine animals, though their focus is undoubtedly on the tracking of the great white shark in particular.
Join us each month as we create profiles for each of the sharks and be amazed by the revolutionary methods of research and tracking utilized by Ocearch.
Find out more about the Ocearch shark conservation efforts:
Meet the sharks:
- Meet Helen
- Meet Riley
- Meet Albert
- Meet Albertina
- Meet Poseidon
- Meet Success
- Meet Phillip
- Meet Lyla Grace
- Meet Andre
- Meet Cyndi
- Meet Sofia
- Meet Lisha
- Meet Lesley
- Meet Maddox
- Meet Courage
- Meet Jill
- Meet Brenda
- Meet Dorien
Credit: All data found on www.ocearch.org.
