My research begins Sunday

[Dillon]

So a week or so ago I posted on here I will be getting into shark research within the University...well I got called in yesterday to go out into the Galveston bay where I live in Texas (I know some of y’all may not familiar with the area). I will be helping out two of the professor’s PH.D students in tagging both juvenile and adult bull sharks after catching a few on rod and reel (yeah I’ll be doing fishing as well, a bonus for me). I got the whole spill what I will be doing. I will be attaching satillete tags on the dorsal fin of the shark after catching, take measurements, and body weight. I will also be deploying what are known as reciever deployments which are bouys that have a reciver a few meters down that collects data of water temperature and depth. The bouys will also track the tagged shark’s movements giving possibly weekly data. The bouys will be able to detect a tagged shark about a 300 yard radius since the tag on the dorsal fin will ping once it’s in close range to the bouy. If we were only doing the satillite dorsal tags we may get just data twice a month since that will only transmit data when the dorsal fin breaks above the surface of the water.

This is so exciting for me...however I will be doing this Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday from 12:00pm-midnight on those days in which I’ll only get possibly 3-4 hours of sleep before my 8:00am classes I have to go to every single day.
Even though I’m not used to the schedule I signed up for this and it will be worth it!

 

[Stardust Parade]

It sounds like fun! Good luck!

 

[BraidedPony]

I expect to see the videos of you tagging on Shark Week 2019!
Have fun and wear sunscreen.

 

[Thinx]

Sounds amazing wow! Be safe though, I believe sharks can be dangerous?

 

[Panthro]

Awesome job Dillion! Perhaps this experience will inspire you to pursue your own PhD and conduct your own research studies in the future.

 

[SusanLR]

From one whom loved fishing all my life: To "land" this research sounds awesome.
Have fun. I know I would if I were younger.

 

[Autistamatic]

Really pleased for you Dillon I hope you find it as enjoyable and fulfilling as you expect.

 

[Dillon]

Sounds amazing wow! Be safe though, I believe sharks can be dangerous?

They can be dangerous to a point, mainly when provoked or feeling threatened. Many people always think that sharks are just killing machines when In reality many shark species are quite harmless. I think we have this perception of bias that whatever we see on tv or through social media such as for instance a shark attacking a person on the beach, that people consider all sharks to be cruel and deadly because of something that was heard or seen, creating fear amongst ourselves. It’s come to a point where some people want to kill and get rid of sharks. Parts of the public are not looking at the bigger picture of things I believe.
That’s what I want to do is educate to others about the importance of sharks and to try to diminish that fear people may have towards them.

 

[Dillon]

I expect to see the videos of you tagging on Shark Week 2019!
Have fun and wear sunscreen.

That’s actually a dream I had to be on shark week for quite a while and may one day soon become reality, you never know.

 

[tducey]

Good for you. Good luck.