Sandbar, dusky and tiger sharks are among dozens of shark species living in the coastal waters off the U.S. East Coast. Little is known about many of the species, but a survey begun nearly 25 years ago is helping scientists and fishery resource managers to monitor shark populations and their role in marine ecosystems.
NOAA scientists from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) lab in Narragansett, R.I., recently conducted their ninth coastal shark survey from Florida to Delaware. The survey, conducted every two to three years, is the longest survey independent of the fishing industry of large coastal sharks in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean.
Using commercial Florida-style longline fishing methods to standardize results from survey to survey, researchers caught 1,675 sharks from 19 different species and tagged 1,352 individuals during the 2009 survey in April and May. Most of the animals caught and tagged were sandbar sharks, a common species in the western Atlantic. Longline fishing is a type of fishing that uses a long or main line with baited hooks spaced out at certain intervals along the line.