Texas A&M University at Galveston marine biologist David Wells.
While there are plenty of sharks out there, it is estimated that over 100 million per year are caught in commercial and recreational fisheries, and numbers of some species of sharks are declining.
“The blacktip shark is of particular interest because it’s one of the most popular sport fish that anglers target,” Wells adds.
“The tags we place on blacktip sharks will tell us about their movements and post-release survival rates, while the blood we extract will inform us of their stress levels. The information we collect should add significantly to the body of knowledge we have about sharks in the Gulf and will likely be used directly by NOAA scientists to help inform management.”
Several Texas A&M University at Galveston students and staff are assisting on the project, among them Dr. John Mohan, a post-doctoral researcher who is leading project tasks including the fieldwork, data analysis and dissemination of the results.
Additional research by Wells and his team can be found on the Wells Fisheries Lab website.
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Contacts: David Wells at wellsr@tamug.edu, or (409) 740-4989 or Bob Wright, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, Texas A&M University at Galveston. Office: 409-740-4840, Cell: 713-586-9870 or email Wrightb@tamug.edu, or Keith Randall, News & Information, (979) 845-4644 or keith-randall@tamu.edu