Mississippi Sharks!

A version of this article originally appeared in Mississippi Magazine.
Photos by George Lee.

The thrashing shark I’m holding is both intimidating and awe inspiring. I think I should be afraid, after all Jaws and a host of other movies and TV shows convince us that sharks are constantly lurking about hoping to devour us on a whim. But feeling the taut muscles and smooth skin of the sleek shark is more inspiring than scary.

I accompanied a team of marine biologists from the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) at the University of Southern Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico, assisting in the capture, tagging, and data collection of dozens of sharks and other fish. The team conducts a shark study funded by the Southeast Area Mapping and Assessment Program (SEAMAP), a joint federal/state/university program that monitors long term coastal shark population trends.

The program conducts expeditions into waters around the barrier islands off of Biloxi, capturing and tagging sharks in the Mississippi Sound around the Mississippi barrier islands from March through October. The objective of the program is to collect information on coastal sharks to determine species populations and distribution in order to better understand and maintain Gulf Coast shark populations.

 On a sunny April morning we boarded the R/V Jim Franks, a 60-foot aluminum research vessel and made a 90 minute run to Petit Bois Island where we set out a longline, a mile-long line of 1200-pound monofilament line with a hook baited with Atlantic mackerel every 50 feet. We let the line soak in 20 feet of water for an hour and then hauled it in, hoping to have hooks full of sharks. Things did not look promising as we winched the line in. The first dozen hooks were empty.-foot aluminum research vessel and made a 90 minute run to Petit Bois Island where we set out a longline, a mile-long line of 1200-pound monofilament line with a hook baited with Atlantic mackerel every 50 feet. We let the line soak in 20 feet of water for an hour and then hauled it in, hoping to have hooks full of sharks. Things did not look promising as we winched the line in. The first dozen or so hooks were empty. 

 a sunny April morning we boarded the R/V Jim 

But then, success! An Atlantic sharpnose shark was writhing on a hook. The team removed the shark from the hook and measured, weighed, determined the species and sex and attached a tiny plastic tag to the dorsal fin. The shark was quickly returned to the water and with a quick flip of its fins, disappeared into the deep.

Each tag has a unique number and a Southern Miss phone number. Anglers that catch a tagged fish are asked to call the phone number on the tag and report the tag number, length and sex. Reports of tagged sharks subsequently caught by anglers allow biologists to determine life spans, ranges, movement patterns and other critical information. 

The tags are the key to the study,” said Jeremy Higgs, Research Associate at the Center for Fisheries Research and Development within the GCRL. “We are dependent on fishermen to report tags to us. The data reported back to us allows us to determine how the population is doing.”

We hooked three more sharks at Petit Bois and then moved on to Horn Island, a 30 minute run, and set the longline again. This location, one of four random stations that are checked on each trip, looked more promising with clearer water and 35 foot depth. Another hour soak and we winched in the longline. We were not disappointed. One of the first hooks held another Atlantic sharpnose but then we hauled in a blacktip shark, a sleek four-foot beauty. Blacktips are an impressive species, with the classic predatory shark shape and attractive black markings on their fins—hence their name. The study targets ten shark species that inhabit near-shore waters. These are not the huge sharks that swim in the deep waters of the Gulf—the largest one we hooked was about four feet--although Higgs says they occasionally capture big bull sharks.

Higgs says they may capture, tag and release as many as 1,000 sharks per season and the tag return rate is only around two. He has been tagging sharks since 2010 and his knowledge of and appreciation for sharks is apparent. He can immediately identify the shark.



We captured another seven sharks on this second soak and followed up with two more sets off of Cat Island where we hooked eight more. Total score for the day: 19 sharks, including 13 Atlantic sharpnose, three finetooth, two blacktips and one spinner.

Baiting hooks, setting and hauling lines, and processing and wrangling irate sharks in the hot sun on a rolling deck makes for a long, arduous day and when we docked in Biloxi just before sunset the team had had a good workout. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work to assist these beleaguered and often misunderstood fish and it’s good to know that Mississippi is helping to enhance their survival.

 

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