High-Tech to Observe the Most Famous Fish in the Ocean

Despite the enormous popular and scientific interest in great white sharks, it remains one of the most mysterious and least understood of the ocean's creatures. So far not enough research has been devoted to them, much of their basic biology and ecology is still unknown. If we don't want to lose this charismatic species we need to obtain the scientific information that is essential for developing conservation measures that guarantee a future for great white sharks.

What do we expect from our tagging projects?

Let's face it: If we want to take the white shark off the road to extinction we need to learn more about this fascinating creature. By tracking great white sharks with cutting-edge high-tech satellite devices we hope to answer -among other things- the following important questions:
  • Which are their preferred habitats?
  • What is the size of their home ranges?
  • Do white sharks show fidelity to particular sites, such as hunting grounds, and if so for how long?
  • How far do white sharks travel?
  • Do white sharks have regular migrations, and if so what are the sizes and routes of these migrations?
  • What are the relationships between great white sharks that live in different parts of the world?
  • Are the movements of white sharks driven by environmental factors and if so which are the most important of them?
This information is extremely important not only to have a more complete understanding of white sharks but also to evaluate the need for more extensive protection mechanisms for them that are based on scientific information.

In our Shark-Tracker Expeditions we use two types of tags:
Ramón Bonfil holding a PAT-tag (photo by Ramón Bonfil)
Ramón Bonfil holding a PAT-tag (photo by Ramón Bonfil)