What a day! Today, believe it or not, was better than yesterday and that is a tall order. I started out the morning early, about 6AM, and headed out with our crew to a series of longlines that the researchers from the Bimini Biological Research Station laid out the evening before. We were told that they had caught a 5-foot tiger shark and we quickly jumped into a boat with our gear and headed out to the site. We wanted to minimize the amount of time that the shark was on the hook, in order to make sure that it wouldn’t get too stressed. Tiger Sharks are very tough and they usually do just fine on the line, even for extended periods of time.I got in the water with Scott on the camera and we slowly followed the line up from our boat to where the shark was hanging on the line. Sure enough, it was a beautiful 5-foot female Tiger Shark. Tiger Sharks are considered one of the most dangerous sharks in the world; they have highly serrated teeth and are widely known as opportunistic feeders that will eat almost anything including sea turtles, shell and all.

But this Tiger Shark was very calm and patient as the scientists took her measurements. We filmed from underneath as they keep the shark in the water while they “work her up”. When they let her go, we moved way back from her and gave her enough room to swim away without running into us.

Upon releasing the shark we got word that there was another shark on the line. Sure enough it turned out to be another Tiger Shark, but this time, a smaller 4 footer. That size is small enough to capture and take to a holding pen for tagging and observation (see photos). After we had released her into the pen we headed out to the dive site we had been at yesterday and continued testing the shark repellent. Yet again it proved quite effective and we were amazed at how quickly the repellent seemed to work. While it wasn’t 100%, there was definitely a reaction and most of the sharks left the area pretty quickly. Mission accomplished and we all agreed that the potential for this repellent was huge to help us protect, not people, but sharks. According to the international shark attack files, only one shark attack resulted in a fatality last year while we continued to slaughter tens of millions of sharks.

I have to give a shout out to the Bimini Biological Field Station. All of the staff and volunteers are outstanding and it is quite a unique operation that they run. They offer volunteers the opportunity to get in-depth experience in many aspects of shark research, as well as the workings of a remote biological field station, and the lab depends on volunteers to accomplish their research. Since 1990 it has hosted thousands of volunteers from all over the world. If you have an interest in marine biology and would like to volunteer, you can visit www.miami.edu/sharklab/volunteerinfo.html. In addition, I can’t ask you all enough to support their work. I know all too well that raising money for this kind of vital work is difficult. If you can support them and get involved with money or equipment, contact Sean Williams, Lab Manager at sean.g.williams@gmail.com, and remember, anyone visiting the island of Bimini that wishes to visit the lab for a tour can contact the Sharklab on VHF radio channel 88A (USA).

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