The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
in a collaborative effort with several fisheries-based agencies,
successfully tagged 10 whale sharks during two recent trips in the Gulf
of Mexico. This represents the largest number of whale sharks tagged at
one time in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
The tagging effort is a joint venture between the University of
Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, National Marine
Fisheries Service, Mississippi Laboratories, Flower Garden Banks
National Marine Sanctuary, On the Wings of Care and LDWF. The team is
hoping the project will reveal precious information about the
little-studied fish.
“Historical information on whale sharks in the northern Gulf of
Mexico is lacking,” said LDWF Assistant Secretary Randy Pausina. “We’ve
had great success with many other fish tagging ventures and hope that
this effort has similar results, providing a wealth of data to assist in
the conservation of this species.”
Despite being the largest fish in the ocean, the whale shark is one
of the most elusive animals to scientists due to their offshore, nomadic
existence. They are extremely difficult to find outside of a few known
seasonal hotspots; therefore, obtaining data on this species is
extremely challenging and expensive.
“If the tags stay on for a significant amount of time, we will learn
a great deal about how these sharks use the waters of the northern Gulf
of Mexico, as well as where they go in the winter time, which is still a
mystery to us,” said Dr. Eric Hoffmayer, a Research Fishery Biologist
with NOAA Fisheries Service, who has been studying whale sharks in the
northern Gulf for 10 years. “It is still unclear whether whale sharks
are residents in northern Gulf waters or simply seasonal migrants from
the Caribbean Sea or beyond. Hopefully the data acquired from these
tags will shed some light onto this research question.”
One of the most accurate and useful tools for studying whale shark
movements is telemetry, which involves attaching satellite transmitters
to the sharks. Other behavioral information beyond the shark’s
movements can be inferred by assessing oceanic and physical conditions
around the shark.
The satellite tags provide temperature and depth data every 10 to 15
minutes as well as an estimated position each day for the duration of
the tag. The deployment periods for these tags ranged between four to
12 months. In addition to the standard satellite tags, three position
tags were also deployed, which send real-time location estimates to the
satellite when the shark surfaces and the satellites are overhead.
These tags should report for up to six months.
Funding for the satellite tags was provided by the International Foundation for Animal Welfare and World Wildlife Fund.
“Another important factor contributing to the success of this
project and our whale shark research over the years has been the
participation by the public in our Whale Shark Sighting Survey,” said
Jennifer McKinney, Research Technician with the University of Southern
Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. “After receiving several
reports from the offshore community about whale sharks in region, we
mobilized a trip to conduct the tagging. Due to public participation,
we knew exactly where to focus our efforts and therefore had great
success.”
The Whale Shark Sighting Survey can be found at
www.usm.edu/gcrl/whaleshark. The
survey has been an increasing success over the years, in which the
general public has been actively involved in the whale shark research
program through their participation.
Bonny Schumaker with On the Wings of Care, a non-profit agency, has
provided aerial support for whale shark tagging trips since 2010.
For press inquiries, contact Ashley Wethey at
awethey@wlf.la.gov (225) 765-5113 or Kim Amendola at
kim.amendola@noaa.gov (727) 551-5707.
