Conquering white sharks weighing 1000kg

Scientists captured a white shark, anesthetized it, and attached a GPS positioning tag to the fins of the "sea killer", serving an ambitious research project.

In this project, researchers will carry out the task of tagging the largest American shark in Cape offshore, Massachusetts. The mission is run by the non-profit organization OCEARCH and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in collaboration with tagging on 20 great white sharks.

Lydia white sharks are tagged at the beginning of the year.(Photo: OCEARCH)

According to Simon Thorrold from WHOI, this effort seeks to better understand the white shark species and their importance in the ocean food web. There are about 100 million sharks killed each year due to indiscriminate fishing in many countries around the world.

To carry out the project, scientists will capture white sharks, anesthetize them and place them on a hydraulic lift to attach them to their dorsal GPS tags. Thereby helping the scientific community better understand the path of the white shark, the temperature and the depth of water. In addition, experts also collected white shark tissue and blood samples to learn more about their health and diet.

The collected data will be used for many studies on shark behavior. According to Simon Thorold, the great white shark that emerged off Cape Cod in recent years coincides with the recovery of gray seal populations, a favorite of white sharks.

Earlier this year, the OCEARCH science group tagged a shark named Lydia off Florida.