How we catch juvenile sharks

The Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) is ideally located for work with sharks and other large fish species. We have nearshore access to the nursery grounds of two different shark species, which gives us the opportunity to collect animals and transport them back to HIMB for electroreception research. Please view the images below to get an idea of the shark collection process.

	Oahu is one of the eight main Hawaiian Islands. The black box outlines Kaneohe Bay, in which HIMB and Coconut Island (marked by a star) are situated.
	An aerial photo of Kaneohe Bay showing Coconut Island (red star) and our fishing grounds (yellow stars).
	*Juvenile sandbar sharks, Carcharhinus plumbeus, are captured on modified longline using light monofilament tackle*
	Most sharks are approximately 80 cm in length and can easily be brought on board our boat and transported back to the lab at HIMB.
	Sharks go into "tonic immobility" or a coma-like state when turned over on their backs.
	This allows us to easily remove the hook without harming the shark.
	Sharks are placed in our custom-made transporter and brought back to Coconut Island for behavioral electroreception experiments.

This site was created by Timothy Fitzgerald and is maintained Nick Whitney
Last updated October 28, 2004 04:22 PM HST