Andrew is a post-doctoral researcher in North Carolina focused on population and conservation genetics in hydrothermal vent communities.
[Editor's Notice - Comments have been suspended on this post. Please visit "Full video of injured shark shows numerous natural injuries" for an update on this controversy]
Last summer, I reviewed National Geographic’s “Expedition Great White” and interviewed the lead scientist. Several researchers and conservationists were concerned about the methods that Dr. Michael Domeier uses to study great white sharks, particularly after one shark was “foul hooked” through the gills. These methods (removing captured great white sharks from the water to study them using a forklift-like structure) make for excellent television, but may be harmful to the sharks. As I reported last year:
“While I regularly take sharks out of the water for my research, I don’t ever mess with anything larger than 5 or 6 feet. In addition to the human safety factor, animals larger than that may be too heavy for their cartilaginous skeletons to support their weight without water’s buoyancy. The white sharks Dr. Domeier removed from the water were 14-18 feet long”
This debate recently resurfaced when a severely injured great white shark was discovered. Some conservationists wondered if this shark was “Junior”, the shark that was foul hooked by Dr. Domeier’s research team.
Is this injured shark "Junior", the shark that was foul-hooked by Dr. Domeier's team? Image taken from FijiSharkDiving.Blogspot.com
Dr. Domeier’s team at the Marine Conservation Science Institute declined to comment for this post, but directed me to a statement they made last week on their website:
“The images clearly show a rather nasty wound on the corner of Junior’s mouth, but what is not explained is that when the entire video is viewed it can be determined that this injury was clearly inflicted by another white shark; it is not a result of the capture and release during tagging. White sharks annually aggregate at both Guadalupe Island and central California, and during these aggregations the sharks are very aggressive towards each other. When they attack one another they typically bite the region from the pectoral fins to the head, often damaging the gill area and head. We have many photos of sharks from Guadalupe Island with similar aggression related injuries; this is natural shark behavior.” (emphasis mine)
A great white shark with a clear bite mark over the gills. Is this what happened to Junior? Photo from MarineCSI.org ED - This is an example of an injury caused by a shark bite, it is not Junior.
Marine CSI’s claims are possible. Little is known about great white social behavior, but many social interactions between sharks (particularly mating behavior) involve biting. It may be nothing more than a coincidence that the exact shark that was injured near the gills two years ago had an injury near the gills a year later. The above photo, which shows an injury near where Junior’s injury was seen, supports that claim. However, Patric Douglas isn’t buying this explanation:
“Why did Marine CSI researchers who have been sitting on these images since 2010 only come forward now to ultimately defend their work and put forward an ad hoc series of unlikely reasons for Juniors current mangled condition?”
Patric and Mike paint a picture of a researcher whose methods accidentally resulted in serious injury to a shark and is now trying to cover up a mistake. Dr. Domeier’s statement suggests that his team did nothing wrong, the shark’s 2010 state is unrelated to a 2009 incident, and that they are the victims of a smear campaign led by rival researchers. Personally, I’m waiting for more information before I make up my mind.
I stand by what I originally said about Dr. Domeier’s research. There is no way to gather certain types of information about great white sharks without removing them from the water, and that information is extremely important for the conservation and management of these animals. Many other sharks were captured and tagged by Dr. Domeier’s team without incident, and the information this project is generating will be used to help protect this species. I support science and scientists, but there are so few great white sharks left that we need to stand up for the animals first. If this research project seriously injured a great white shark and then attempted to cover it up (as Mike and Patric claim), that is unacceptable.
I have contacted the Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary staff to request the full video that Dr. Domeier claims exonerates his team. If we are permitted to post the video, it may clear up what happened.
A representative from the other great white shark research team declined to comment for this post.
I will keep looking into this incident, and I’ll keep everyone posted as developments arise.
[Editor's Notice - Comments have been suspended on this post. Please visit "Full video of injured shark shows numerous natural injuries" for an update on this controversy]
Sean R. Van Sommeran – I was more commenting on what was said during the Shark Men episode with Junior. They mentioned that the hook would eventually dissolve, and I guess I misunderstood it to mean quicker rather than not.
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Hi Maggie,
Much of what the program doesnt make sense.
My comments were also regarding what was said on the ‘Shark Men’ episode with Junior. The hook was not well designed.
link to bohemian.com
The next Farallones (GFNMS–sanctuary) SAC meeting will be held on May 12 at Point Reyes. At 10:45am the contractor preparing the White Shark EA will give an update. The EA is for a new permit for 5 years of white shark research in Gulf of Farallones. There will be public comment following the presentation from 11:45 to 12:15. Please attend and voice your opposition to the harmful hook and line method and fin injuring devices.
Thank you,
Sean
S.R. Van Sommeran
Executive Director
Pelagic Shark Research Foundation
link to pelagic.org
~Now of facebook~
Since 1990
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The story about hooks just ‘dissolving’ and falling out is just that, a story. Years back when we were looking into the effects of leaving hooks in sharks, we did testing on easily kept species such as spotted gulley and smooth hound sharks.
We inserted hooks into their mouths in different places and what we found was this. Hooks in the lower jaw, and especially when the point extruded right through, did not seem to pose much of a problem so long as the hook did not impede the animals ability to feed.
On the other hand, hooks into the upper jaw caused serious problems for the animals. The hooks would cause infection and severe swelling. The sharks would get to a point where they would become lethargic and simply lay on the tank floor. At this point we would remove the hook, lance the area is required and within a couple of days the sharks would recover. We never allowed any of the animals to expire but I am convinced that had we not removed the hooks from the infected animals, they would have perished.
The exposed shank of a large hook will take a very long time to rust off but whatever section is embedded in the animal, will remain there indefinitely. It is always better to remove the hook if possible and always use a barb-less hook if you have to use a hook at all for tag and release.
Craig
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The lance and lure method is the best method for attaching archival satellite transmitters and ultrasonic acoustic transmitters, I dont think the hook and line method is appropriate for protected species such as white sharks and the SPOT transmitters are not ready yet in terms of designing attachment AND jettison once the device no longer works. The devices damage the fins they way they are presently being bolted on as if attaching something to machinery instead of a living creature.
Ciao,
Sean
S.R. Van Sommeran
Executive Director
Pelagic Shark Research Foundation
link to pelagic.org
~Now of facebook~
Since 1990
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Taken from Dr Domeier’s web site..
link to marinecsi.org
“JUNIOR’S LATEST JOURNEY
18 April 2011
The movement pattern of the first male adult white shark tagged during our Farallon Island’s tagging expedition (as featured in the season 2 premier of Shark Men) has recently taken an unusual turn. This shark, named Junior, underwent a normal migration to offshore foraging ground during the winter of 2009-2010, after which he returned to the Farallon Islands in the summer/fall of 2010. This winter Junior again made his offshore migration, but in recent days he has done something we have never seen before, he began travelling east and has now gotten within 80 nautical miles of the California coast. This would not be unusual had it happened in the summer, but such a return to the coast in the winter has not been observed before. Whether this is a newly discovered white shark behavior or a consequence of a serious injury that was documented by TOPP researchers is not known. We will keep watching Junior’s migration pattern, looking for clues to this new situation.”
Is it possible that the injury to Junior has left him unable to follow his normal migration pattern and being unable able to compete for food, he has done what many injured or sick animals do and go looking for food in places that they might not normmally show up?
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Domeier abandons tagging practice seen on “Shark Men” – Reports ‘the Dorsal Fin’.
link to thedorsalfin.com
According to a report from MSNBC, Dr. Michael Domeier’s position in the debate over his (SPOT) tags is no longer tenable. The method as seen in National Geographic’s “Shark Men reality TV show has been demonstrated to be injuring the sharks fins.
Not to mention the hook related injury, Chris Fischer called my mobile the other seeking leads on salmon sharks, he communicated to me that he and Dr Domeier are no longer working together and that Domeier is withholding data from Chris Fischer who invested huge sums of money to sponsor Domeier’s efforts.
And so it goes,
Sean
S.R. Van Sommeran
Executive Director
Pelagic Shark Research Foundation
link to pelagic.org
~Now of facebook~
Since 1990
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My thought is, do we really need to do this to learn about sharks? Isn’t there another, less obtrusive way? And how much do we have to do it? Enough for an entire show about it? I’m all for studying sharks but sheesh. Seems more detrimental at times than helpful… this show doesn’t appeal to me AT ALL. It’s basically all sensationalized. All I hear is “OMG we have a shark! Look how dangerous this is ahhhhh! I’m so cool.” all the focus on the research is lost and its annoying.
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