For decades, research on Great White Sharks has been hampered by a lack of knowledge about their breeding grounds. Now, it seems, there may finally be an answer, and it’s not one a lot of locals are going to like.
OCEARCH, a non-profit marine science organization, has for some time now been tagging Great Whites in an effort to find out where they go to breed. While there is no conclusive evidence proving the theory, researchers have identified Long Island as a potential site for one of these fabled breeding grounds.
Chris Fischer, OCEARCH chairman and expedition leader, elaborated on how a lack of data about where sharks breeds is a significant hurdle to any conservation efforts, as well as the precise impact that sharks have on their ecosystem. “Sharks are the balance keepers of our oceans,” he says, “if we lose our sharks, there won’t be enough fish to eat and we will lose our oceans, and thus the planet.”
He later reported “We’ve tagged five great whites on the east coast of the US, and based on some of their migratory patterns, we suspect Long Island, New York may be a birthing site,” and added, “Those are the areas we need to protect so the ocean is in balance and the fish thrive.”
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A great white smiling for the camera. Photo by Hermanus Backpackers via Wiki Commons.
Long Island certainly has a rather storied chapter of its history devoted to sharks. Star Island Yacht Club hosts an annual shark fishing tournament. Just off the docks, you can find a scale model replica of a shark that Captain Frank Mundus caught off the coast of Block Island in 1964, still the record for the largest fish of any kind ever caught with a rod and reel. Mundus eventually became the inspiration for the character of Quint in Jaws, and the shark he caught, of course, inspired the shark.
Jaws is well known for inspiring a frenzy about shark attacks after it came out, but at least in New York, these fears are largely unfounded. Since 1642, only 30 shark attacks have been reported in the state, there hasn’t been an unprovoked attack since 1953 and there hasn’t been a fatality of any kind since 1880. It’s probably safe to say our fear of sharks is blown out of proportion.
OCEARCH has started a Kickstarter campaign to fund their expedition around the coast of Long Island in the hopes of proving definitively whether or not the island is a breeding ground for Great Whites. This is a break from their usual style of getting funding; rather than appeal for grant money they aim to start a grassroots movement in the state to help change the perceptions people have about sharks in general. “We wanted to involve our supporters, our community in this process so we can continue to serve the science communities and future generations while democratizing the ocean space,” Fischer said.
Currently they have raised just over $42,000 towards their ultimate goal of $150,000. OCEARCH will attempt to tag young sharks and track their movements to better understand exactly where they come from and where they migrate.
[Source: OCEARCH, Observer, Kickstarter]