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Contact: Kim Holland, 236-7410 fax: 236-7443

Air Date: June 12, 1998

UH Research Studies Tiger Sharks pt. 2

In 1992, a task force was formed to respond to a series of shark attacks in the state. But it was soon obvious that hard data on sharks was lacking.

University of Hawaii Marine Biologist Kim Holland explains that no one knew whether sharks stay in a specific locale. Or whether or not they travel randomly far and wide? A behavior that would make attempts to eradicate them useless.

Since that time, Holland has been tracking the movements of tiger sharks by capturing them in the waters off Hawaii, planting sonic transmitters in their bodies and letting them go.

So far, he has found that sharks return to the same location only every few weeks or months. In other words, if they have a territory which they occupy on a regular basis, it is probably very large.

Considering that most sharks do not attack humans, Holland's research suggests that fishing for a particular shark is unlikely to work.

This is the University Report, I'm Tracy Orillo Donovan.

 

-UH-