Featured Image Credit: Eugene Kitsios via Bimini Sharklab
By Jessica Kittel
I mean, it’s no Jaws, but 13 feet of pure tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) is still pretty impressive.
Researchers with the Bimini Sharklab, a biological field station in the Bahamas caught this large specimen while doing a longline survey in South Bimini (an island in the Bahamas archipeligo). Tiger sharks can be found in tropical and subtropical oceans around the world. However, as reported on Grindtv, it is rare to find such a large tiger shark in the Atlantic Ocean.
This particular specimen was a female and is the current record holder at the Sharklab, despite the fact that they’ve been doing these surveys for close to 40 years. Based on her size, researchers presume she’s close to 20 years old, according to earthtouchnews.com.
During her limited time with the Sharklab scientists, her waistline (i.e. girth but hey, this IS a lady we’re talking about) was measured at roughly 68 inches. Her girth to length ratio suggested she wasn’t pregnant at the time or if she was, she wasn’t too far along.
She was also fitted with an acoustic tag that will stay on her for the next ten years. This tag will transmit her location to the team whenever she’s within 500 meters of any number of receiving stations located along America’s Eastern Seaboard and in Bimini waters. On top of that, the large tiger shark received a microchip transponder and a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) dart tag. These will allow for identification is she’s ever recaptured. She reportedly swam away looking strong and in very good condition.
As Bimini Sharklab explains, tiger sharks are important players in their marine ecosystems. As one of the largest predators in their foodweb, they end up regulating the lower trophic levels. When a food web loses top predators, a trophic cascade often ensues and changes prey population numbers and behavior, and not for the better. Since tiger sharks are a very mobile species they end up being members of multiple food chains throughout their lives. This nomadic existence is also a key challenge in conservation of these keystone species. If they spend half of their time in an area where they are not protected as a species, conservation efforts can be thwarted.
The Bimini Sharklab hopes that by tracking tiger sharks they can gain a better understanding of movement patterns, residency time, and potential returns to Bimini.