ICYMI: Track 2 New Celebrity Sharks

Shark enthusiasts who keep up with every movement of Katharine and Mary Lee the great whites have two new names to follow courtesy of OCEARCH.

The nonprofit organization dedicated to studying apex predators has added two new “celebrities” to its stable of sharks it tracks. Joseph is a 10-foot, 6-inch tiger shark that was tagged for tracking during the M/V OCEARCH’s current Gulf of Mexico expedition. Hammerhead shark fans will also find Buddy new on the organization’s website. He’s a 7-foot, 10-inch hammerhead also tagged during the Gulf expedition.

The M/V OCEARCH initially hit the waters in early October with Sarasota Mote Marine Laboratory’s Dr. Heather Marshall onboard. A postdoctoral research fellow at Mote, Marshall has been collecting blood samples from the sharks captured, tagged and released during the expedition.

Mote provided an expedition update Wednesday, saying that four sharks in total had been tagged as of Nov. 6. The other two sharks are also being tracked, but not as publicly as Buddy and Joseph. The two other sharks are a 6-foot, 9-inch bull shark and an 8-foot hammerhead.

See Also:

• Shark Researchers Cast Net in Gulf Waters
• Betsy the Great White Shark Swimming St. Pete’s Waters
• Katharine the Great White Shark Returns to Florida
• Tampa’s ‘Old Hitler’ Featured on Shark Week

The overall goal for this expedition is to tag, sample and release a variety of sharks from the Gulf, including makos, tigers and hammerheads. Researchers hope to gain a better understanding of how sharks interact with Gulf habitats, including natural and artificial reefs, while also gaining a better understanding of the creatures’ migratory and reproductive habits.

Expedition leader and OCEARCH founding chairman Chris Fischer told Patch hammerheads are of particular interest during this research mission because there’s “so little data” available on them.

To keep up with the efforts and to track Buddy and Joseph, visit OCEARCH online. Shark lovers are also welcome to donate to the cause via the website and they can follow the action on the organization’s social media channels.

The Mary Lee Twitter stream will also have some updates on the expedition. That tagged shark has a following on Twitter that’s more than 90,000 strong.

It is unclear at this time just how long the M/V OCEARCH will remain in the Gulf.

Photo courtesy of OCEARCH