Science Diary: Sharks – Big Mako

Science Diary: Sharks – Big Mako

Music; Ambience: catching and tagging a Mako Shark

CS: “This next mako must’ve just gotten on the line because it is not tired and not happyThey’re pulling it in. It’s slamming around and thrashing its tail”

JM: That’s ocean conservationist Carl Safina, onboard a research vessel that’s tagging and studying Blue and Mako sharks off the coast of southern California. A life long sport fisherman, Carl’s understanding of marine life has evolved over the years. Welcome to Pulse of the Planet’s Science Diaries, a glimpse of the world of science from the inside.

CS: “Blue sharks and makos look superficially kind of similar. The blue shark is much more supple and a more graceful appearance overall. The mako is packed into a very taut body. It’s a much huskier animal. The mako is also a warm bodied animal. It can keep its temperature elevated significantly above the temperature of the surrounding water, and most fish are the same temperature as the seawater even most sharks are. And the mako can be much more active and a much faster predator as a result of that secret weapon of vertebrates heat.”

CS: “Up! Up! Up!” (sound of cradle goes under)

JM: The whining sound you hear is the sharks being hoisted out of the water in a cradle. They’re then moved on board, where they are tagged and released.

CS: “It’s kind of hard to believe and rather sad that as a fisherman I’ve killed these things. Such awesome animals. And to see how you can get close to them and study them, rather than killing them as I did when I was younger, it’s quite a difference and really satisfying, and it’s just a really beautiful thing to be doing.”

JM: To hear more about Carl Safina’s ocean conservation work, please visit our website, pulseplanet.com. Pulse of the Planet’s Science Diaries are made possible by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.

Science Diary: Sharks - Big Mako

While catching and tagging sharks, a sports fisherman turned ecologist sees them in a new light.
Air Date:03/31/2008
Scientist:
Transcript:

Science Diary: Sharks - Big Mako

Music; Ambience: catching and tagging a Mako Shark

CS: "This next mako must've just gotten on the line because it is not tired and not happyThey're pulling it in. It's slamming around and thrashing its tail"

JM: That's ocean conservationist Carl Safina, onboard a research vessel that's tagging and studying Blue and Mako sharks off the coast of southern California. A life long sport fisherman, Carl's understanding of marine life has evolved over the years. Welcome to Pulse of the Planet's Science Diaries, a glimpse of the world of science from the inside.

CS: "Blue sharks and makos look superficially kind of similar. The blue shark is much more supple and a more graceful appearance overall. The mako is packed into a very taut body. It's a much huskier animal. The mako is also a warm bodied animal. It can keep its temperature elevated significantly above the temperature of the surrounding water, and most fish are the same temperature as the seawater even most sharks are. And the mako can be much more active and a much faster predator as a result of that secret weapon of vertebrates heat."

CS: "Up! Up! Up!" (sound of cradle goes under)

JM: The whining sound you hear is the sharks being hoisted out of the water in a cradle. They're then moved on board, where they are tagged and released.

CS: "It's kind of hard to believe and rather sad that as a fisherman I've killed these things. Such awesome animals. And to see how you can get close to them and study them, rather than killing them as I did when I was younger, it's quite a difference and really satisfying, and it's just a really beautiful thing to be doing."

JM: To hear more about Carl Safina's ocean conservation work, please visit our website, pulseplanet.com. Pulse of the Planet's Science Diaries are made possible by the National Science Foundation. I'm Jim Metzner.