TechKnow

Swimming with sharks

TechKnow visits the Bahamas to explore what can be done to help conserve and protect tiger sharks.

This episode of TechKnow sees our contributor Phil Torres head to the Bahamas to monitor tiger sharks, the largest predatory shark in the tropics.

One in six sharks that have been assessed are threatened with extinction

by Neil Hammerschlag, R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation lab

Spending five days and nights on a floating lab at Tiger Beach, a team of scientists – led by research assistant professor Neil Hammerschlag at the University of Miami – attempt to tag and track around 20 tiger sharks to learn more about their habitat.

With around 100 million shark deaths every year, aggressive overfishing has threatened some species to extinction, despite the sharks playing a crucial role in the health of our oceans.

The sharks are killed for their fins, flesh, and liver and conservationists have become increasingly alarmed by the low number of pregnant tiger sharks visiting the beach.

“As an apex predator, meaning that nothing eats them, they live at the top of the food pyramid and play an important ecological role. When you remove that large predator there can be this domino effect on other members of the community,” Hammerschlag says.

We join the experts, who use innovative technology to trace the sharks’ movements and habits, as they find new ways to protect the species. 

We also explore the relationship between the crew members on the floating lab and how they’ve come to view sharks despite their reputation as a menace of the seas.