South Atlantic Bight Researching the coastal and offshore waters of the Carolinas and Georgia

1
South Atlantic BightResearching the coastal and
offshore waters of the Carolinas and Georgia
Whos swimming around out there? Shark Species in
the SAB
Whats the story on sharks? Fact vs. Fiction
SHARKS!
Getting the Facts Shark Conservation and Research
Sharks in the Classroom Lessons and Ideas
Written by Jaclyn Daly, Marine Science
Consultant Designed by Carrie Dixon
2
Whos swimming around out there?

• The near shore and offshore waters of the South
  Atlantic Bight are home and habitat for many
  species of sharks. Since many sharks have
  seasonal migratory patterns, they use different
  parts of the SAB at different times. Some are
  shallow water while others prefer deep, offshore
  waters.

3
Shark Species in the South Atlantic Bight

• Approximately thirty-one species of sharks are
  found in the South Atlantic Bight and Caribbean
  waters.
• The South Atlantic Bight locals include the
  smooth and spiny dogfish, nurse, blacktip, sand
  tiger, bull and tiger sharks. Most of these
  sharks are found in coastal waters less than 200
  meters deep.
• Pelagic, or deepwater, sharks found in the SAB
  include the thresher, shortfin mako (the fastest
  swimming shark), longfin mako, blue, basking
  shark and the largest fish in the sea-- the whale
  shark.

4
Sharks in my state!

• In North Carolina, the most abundant species of
  shark is the Atlantic sharpnose. This species
  moves into shallower waters from May to October
  and migrates offshore the rest of the year in
  deeper waters.
• The sharpnose is a year round resident in South
  Carolinas waters. Along with the Bonnethead
  shark, they comprise the most abundant small
  coastal sharks.
• In Georgia, near Grays Reef National Marine
  Sanctuary about 18 miles offer, the sandbar shark
  is the most common.

5
Shark Teeth!

• Teeth are often a distinguishing characteristic
  for identifying sharks. Some teeth are curved,
  smooth, ceraded. You can identify several
  species of fossil sharks from their teeth
  scattered on beaches in the estuaries and barrier
  islands in the SAB
• If you look into the mouth of a blacktip,
  sharp-nosed or other common shark, you will see
  several rows of teeth. The larger ones are up
  front, with smaller ones back, ready to move up
  like a conveyor belt. Sharks are constantly
  replacing their teeth. Scientists at the Mote
  Marine Lab, Sarasota, Florida estimate that a
  small nurse shark can replace an entire row of
  front teeth every ten days during the summer.
  This is its very active feeding season.

Sharks without teeth?! Click here to learn more!
6
Sharks Without Teeth?!
Some sharks, like the whale and basking shark,
dont use teeth for feeding. They are filter food
from their gills. They simply swim around with
their mouth open waiting for shrimp and plankton
to enter into their gaping mouth. They use their
gill rakes to strain out their food. Other
sharks, such a the dogfish shark, have a serrated
bar in their mouth instead of teeth.
7
Shark Habitats
Photo credit MOTE Marine Laboratory website

• Sharks live in diverse habitats from polar to
  tropical waters, as well as a few freshwater
  rivers and lakes. With over 350 species, sharks
  come in many shapes, sizes and adaptations. The
  new deep sea exploration continue to discover new
  species. Sharks range in size from the 40-foot
  whale shark to the 7-inch dwarf dogfish shark.

8
Predators!

• Sharks are excellent predators. Their senses help
  them find the prey while their teeth help them
  catch and keep it. Besides a well developed
  sense of sight and smell, sharks can sense
  vibrations and also weak electrical impulses from
  their prey.

Photo credit NOAA Fisheries website
9
Getting the FactsShark Conservation and Research

• In 1993, the National Marine Fisheries Service
  (NMFS) established the first version of a plan to
  protect 39 species of sharks in the Atlantic
  Ocean and Gulf of Mexico within the Exclusive
  Economic Zone. This plan was implemented due to
  the astonishing finding in the late 1980s that
  shark populations in the southeast U.S. had
  plunged eighty percent from the previous two
  decades.

10
Shark Tagging
What are scientists doing now to better
understand where sharks go? Similar to sea turtle
research, with respect to migration, shark
tagging projects are helping marine biologists
better understand travel patterns in many shark
species. These long term and cooperative
research programs are helping scientists and
politicians work together in creating the most
effective shark management programs.
Photo credit MOTE Marine Laboratory website
11
Shark Tracking Websites

• NMFS Cooperative Shark Tagging Program
  http//na.nefsc.noaa.gov/sharks/intro.html
• NOAA Fisheries Shark Page http//www.nmfs.noaa.go
  v/sharks/index.htm
• Apex Predator Program http//na.nefsc.noaa.gov/sh
  arks/
• Tagging http//na.nefsc.noaa.gov/sharks/intro.htm
  l
• South Carolina Department of Natural Resources,
  Shark Tagging Project , Project Oceanica
  http//oceanica.cofc.edu/SharkTagging/Home.htm

12
Shark Protection Plans

• Protecting sharks from population decline has
  been a long-term and difficult path for
  scientists. Coastal and pelagic sharks are
  classified as highly migratory species.
• Field research has proved that certain sharks
  spend stages of their life utilizing different
  marine habitats. Many juvenile sharks use
  inshore waters, including bays and estuaries, as
  nursery grounds.
• Food availability and environmental parameters
  also determine shark distribution.

Photo credit NOAA Fisheries website
Why does this make management difficult? Click
here to find out!
13
Difficulty in Shark Management

• All of the factors contribute to complicated
  management plans. When sharks migrate beyond the
  3 mile state waters, the 12 mile U.S. federal
  waters and even beyond the 200 mile Exclusive
  Economic Zone (EEZ) of the U.S., its a whole
  new ballgame. International regulation to
  prevent over harvest is an important key in
  conserving sharks.

14
Whats the story on sharks?

• Remember, Jaws was just a movie.
• While a few sharks can be dangerous to humans,
  most are harmless. So lets learn the truth
  behind these creatures and how to keep them
  around.
• Click the Pictures to learn more!

15
Senior Citizen Sharks

• Sharks first appeared in the fossil record over
  430 million years ago! Thats before dinosaurs
  existed and for the last couple hundred million
  years sharks have remained relatively unchanged.
  Their adaptations for survival are finely
  developed.

16
Bullies in the Lunchroom

• Several species of sharks are considered apex or
  top predators in the food chain. These include
  the hammerheads, mako, great white and other
  large sharks. If these sharks are over harvested,
  natural food webs can get out of balance.

17
Shark Bite!

• A few species of shark which inhabit coastal
  shores are responsible for surfers and swimmers
  being bitten or even killed.
• The International Shark Attack File records all
  shark bite reports. http//www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/
  sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm
• The brochure, Shark Sense Atlantic and Gulf
  Regions, is available from NC Sea Grant.
• http//www.ncseagrant.org
• Shark myths abound. Check out the cartoons on
  this web site
• Shark Myths http//www.mote.org/7Erhueter/sharks
  /shark.phtml Learning the truth about sharks and
  not stories is the first step in conservation.

18
Rescue 911! Dr. Shark

• Sharks are also important in medical research.
  The shark's structural framework is made of
  cartilage, not bone found in fish and people.
  Shark cartilage is highly resistance to various
  types of cancer. Although there is no evidence
  at this time that shark cartilage helps prevent
  disease, an inaccuracy made by shark cartilage
  pill distributors resulted in many sharks to be
  unnecessarily harvested.

19
Sharks in my lunchbox?

• Sharks are also a food source for many people
  around the world. London's famous "Fish and
  Chips" feature shark meat. Lucrative market for
  restaurants and fish markets are incentives for
  fishers to harvest sharks. The Asian demand for
  Shark Fin Soup led to the now illegal trade in
  the U.S. for fins without the rest of the
  carcass. Sharks were caught and stripped of fins
  with the carcass wasted.

20
Sharks in the Classroom

• Get the kids involved! Here are some great sites
  for students and teachers.

21
Cool Shark Stuff for Teachers!

• Teacher's Page- http//projects.edtech.sandi.net/s
  essions/sharks/tchshark.html
• Project for Students http//projects.edtech.sandi.
  net/sessions/sharks/
• Ocean of Knowledge http//www.oceanofk.org/sharks
  /sharks.html
• Sharks Lessons http//www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Edu
  cation/education.htm

22
Shark Books

• Schulze- Haugan, Meargo, Tony Corey, and Nancy
  Kohler. Guide to Sharks, Tunas Billfishes of
  the U.S. Atlantic and Mexico. Rhode Island Sea
  Grant NOAA Fisheries. 2003 pgs. 118.
• Allen, Thomas. The Shark Almanac. Lyons Press
  New York. 1999. pgs. 274

• Farmer, Charles H. III. Sharks of South
  Carolina. SC DNR Marine Resources Division
  Charleston, SC. 2004. pgs 144.

Click the book to learn how you can get a FREE
copy!
23
Surfing Sharks Shark Websites

• Mississippi NOAA Lab http//www.mslabs.noaa.gov/m
  slabs/resource/shark/shark.html
• Shark research Institute http//www.sharks.org/ma
  in_menu.html
• Projects Visual and satellite tracking,
  behavioral and DNA studies, and environmental
  advocacy and public education.
• Mote Marine Lab/ Center for Shark Research
  http//www.mote.org/7Erhueter/sharks/shark.phtml
• Florida Museum of Natural History- shark research
  links http//www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/sharks
  .htm
• National Shark Research Consortium
  http//www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/nsrc/NSRC.htm
  
• Grays Reef http//www.graysreef.nos.noaa.gov/fish
  guide/Group1/Group1.html
• Sharks of South Carolina
• http//saltwaterfishing.sc.gov/

24
South Atlantic BightResearching the coastal and
offshore waters of the Carolinas and Georgia
Sharks!
To download a copy of this presentation click here