This project began in 2012 and has been called the “Western North Atlantic White Shark Study”. The purpose of this project is to solve the life history puzzle of the Western North Atlantic White Shark by gathering the appropriate data that would tell us where this population migrates, feeds, mates, gives birth and more.

This expedition supports 24 individual studies for 45 principal investigators from 30 research institutions. In addition to putting 3 tracking devices on the animals, researchers will take a number of tissue, blood and other samples to learn even more about white shark biology. These samples can be used to understand the overall population health of white sharks in the Western North Atlantic, reproductive health, and even what types of antibiotics can be used if a human is bitten.

The team will collect blood, mucus, parasites, muscle, fin clips, eye measurements, feces, urine, and semen, whenever possible. Ultrasound exams will also be performed to examine reproductive and heart health.

Sharks are caught and guided to the platform using a handline. Once the sharks are on the platform and hoses of water have been set to enable the flow of oxygen, they are tagged and sampled. The tagging, handling and sampling procedures employed during the expedition follow the standards of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC.org) of each institution, which is made up of scientists and veterinarians.

While the tagging method, which has been used on sharks and other species for over a half-century may cause some level of brief discomfort, there is no scientific evidence that it impacts their behavior or survival post-release. In fact, data from the GLOBAL SHARK TRACKER™ provides strong evidence that the animals tagged using this method show long-term survival and long-distance migrations indicative of normal function and reproductive cycles.

The data allows us to see the range and migration patterns of sharks in different parts of the world, and helps us uncover the areas in need of protection. The tracking data allows studies such as the examination of fine and broad-scale movements, habitat use, site fidelity, residency, and feeding behavior of white sharks. The data we’ve enabled so far has allowed scientists to figure out the mating and breeding sites of the species on the west coast of Mexico – Guadalupe Island. Scientists have also documented the first migration of Great White Sharks to the gulf and the mid-Atlantic ridge.

The data is shared in an open source environment with collaborating institutions that utilize it to conduct studies that are eventually published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The papers, which can take 2-5 years to publish, are used to assist in policy decisions. So far, there have been over 75 papers published based on OCEARCH expeditions and resulting studies.

Follow OCEARCH on​​ Facebook​,​ ​Twitter​, Instagram (@OCEARCH), ​YouTube​ and TikTok for Expedition Northbound updates. You can also follow the sharks tagged during Expeditions by accessing the near-real-time, free online OCEARCH GLOBAL SHARK TRACKER™​.

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