NAPLES --
Shark research at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s
(DEP) Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) will have
the national spotlight tomorrow in a segment of Ocean Mysteries with
Jeff Corwin. The new production, launched jointly by the Georgia
Aquarium and Litton Entertainment, is part of the Litton Weekend
Adventure Saturday morning three-hour educational programming block on
ABC. The shark research episode, featuring RBNERR’s fisheries biologist
Pat O’Donnell, along with Mike Hyatt and Paul Anderson, PhD., two of the
other researchers involved in the study, is scheduled to air tomorrow
Saturday, Nov. 5.
“We
are thrilled that the Rookery Bay is being recognized in this
production,” said Rookery Bay NERR Manager Gary Lytton. “Millions of TV
viewers nationwide will have a great opportunity to learn more about
sharks and the importance of mangrove estuaries as shark nurseries
through our collaboration with Corwin and the Georgia Aquarium.”
Five
years ago, Rookery Bay NERR’s long-term shark monitoring program caught
the attention of Florida Aquarium veterinary staff working to improve
captive shark handling techniques. Subsequently, Rookery Bay NERR
entered into a cooperative research effort with the Florida Aquarium,
the Georgia Aquarium and Shedd’s Aquarium in Chicago. The collaborative
shark stress response project required access to wild-caught sharks,
such as those encountered monthly in RBNERR’s project.
As
production plans got underway at the Georgia Aquarium for Ocean
Mysteries, the Rookery Bay shark capture project became the perfect
opportunity to put Corwin in close contact with wild sharks. Filming
took place aboard a Rookery Bay NERR research vessel in the Ten Thousand
Islands in August 2011. The crew encountered four sharks: two
lemon (Negaprion brevirostris), a bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo) and a
blacktip (Carcharhinus limbatus). While the cameras rolled, the sharks
were measured, weighed and had other data recorded before being tagged
and released with Corwin’s assistance and enthusiastic explanation of
their significance to the ocean ecosystem.
Programming times vary during the Saturday morning Litton’s Weekend Adventure on ABC. Check your local listings.
