Sheprefers to summer in theglisteningwatersoffCapeCod. But comeDecember, Katharine the greatwhite shark travels more than a thousand miles toanother tourist destination:DaytonaBeach.

The14-foot, 2-ton female is one of dozens of largemarinepredatorsscientistsarenowtracking—usingsatellite tagsaffixedto theirdorsal fins—topeer intosecret lives of sharks and their dramatic journeysnorthandsouthalong theEastCoast.

Researchers are hoping the shark-migration datawill enlighten local governments on the coast andpeopleventuring intoAtlanticwatersenoughto leadto better management of human-shark relations

Crackingmysteriesof sharksExperts’ aim:Educatecommunitieson coast about imperiled predators

By Arelis R. HernándezStaff Writer

Please turn to SHARKS, A7

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that, in the past, have beendeadly forboth species.

“Sharks are the equivalentof Yankee snowbirds,” saidUniversity of Florida sharkexpert George Burgess,keeper of the InternationalShark Attack File. “Withshark attacks, you’ve got twogroups that need to come to-gether, but for those twogroups to do so, you got tolook at the behavioral issuesofboth.”

In recent years, scientistsand conservationists havediscovered that the south-ward pilgrimage of theocean’s toothy beasts is re-lated in some measure tochanging water tempera-tures.

Palm Beach Atlantic Uni-versity’s StephenKajiura andhis team took aerial photosalong the coast during peakseason — January throughMarch — that revealed hun-dreds of blacktip and spinnersharks congregating close toshore.

“Youcangetwell over800sharks per square kilometer[aboutasquarehalf-mile],”hesaid. “Butonce thewatergetsabove 24 degrees Celsius[75 degrees Fahrenheit], wearenot seeing the sharks.”

With time, the sharksswim north, but some stopalong theway.

Shark-bitecapitalVolusia andBrevard coun-

ties are the shark-bite centersof the state for a reason.Theyhave a large population ofsharks that reside in the in-lets, sandbars and surf zonesof east Central Florida year-round.

The same New SmyrnaBeach breakers that attractsurfers are home to an“aquatic smorgasbord.”

“It’s a good place to be apredator,” Burgess said. Asthetwospeciescollide,unfor-tunate things happen. “Be-cause of the limited visibility,breaking surf and aggressivecurrents, these [sharks] haveto make a quick decision toget theirnextmeal.”

Sometimes the flash in thewater isnota fishbutabrightpalm or sole of the foot. In2013, there were 23 con-firmed unprovoked shark at-tacks inFlorida, andeightoc-curred in Volusia— a declinefrom2012.

The state led the nationand world in attacks — as itdoes nearly every year — be-cause its citizens and visitorsspend so much time in thewater along hundreds ofmiles of coastline, scientistssay.

Surfers,bodyboardersandkiteboarders are often thevictimsofbites.

None was fatal, and feweverare.Floridaaveragesonedeath a decade, and statisti-cally, beachgoers are morelikely to be killed while driv-ing to the coast than in anencounter with a shark, re-searchers said.

But when it does happen,it’s big news. From 2001 to2013, therewere478reportedshark attacks and 12 fatalitiesnationally. Florida accountedfor 295 of those attacks andthreedeaths.

The most recent victim

was kiteboarder StephenSchafer, who died in Febru-ary2010afterhewasbitteninthe thigh by what biologiststhinkwas a bull shark in Stu-art, according to news re-ports.

Globally, the number ofsharkattackshas growneachdecade since 1900 as peoplespend more recreational andcommercial time in the sea,Burgess said.

Meanwhile, shark popula-tionsaredwindling:“Therealstory is not the shark attacksbut the sharks themselves,”he said.

Fromresearchtoconservation

Researchers across thestate said they hope taggingsharks with transmitters willlead to greater public aware-ness about their behavior, in-creased beach safety andstronger efforts to protectthem.

It’s the big ones — tiger,mako, oceanic whitetip andsand tiger sharks — that cap-tureMahmoodShivji’s atten-tion at Nova SoutheasternUniversity’s Guy Harvey Re-search Institute. It has aweb-sitethepubliccanusetotrackseveral of them in theirworldwidemovements.

In doing so, Shivji’s teamhas identified the “tiger-sharkexpressway”—a trans-Atlantic route from deep in

the center of the ocean thatextends west into the warm-erwatersofBermudaandtheBahamas.

Understanding when andwhere sharks will be at anygiven timecanhelpresearch-ers predict increased activityand inform legislative poli-cies, he said.

With this information, the

Bahamian governmentmoved in 2011 to ban com-mercial shark fishing. Severalothercountries, includingPa-lau and Honduras, have alsocreated shark sanctuaries totry to slow thedisappearanceof such species as hammer-heads.

Increased demand forshark-fin soup, considered aluxury food, has led to theslaughter of 30 million to70million sharks each year,Burgess said.

Katharine, the greatwhite,ismonitoredby thenonprofitorganization OCEARCH, agroup of researchers andmariners who capture andtag the sharkswith the locat-er devices. Scientists at sev-eral institutions and curiousWeb surfers can access thedataonlineatitsGlobalSharkTracker.

“We are making a mess ofthe marine environment,”Shivji said.“How is thatchanging shark behavior?There isnoanswer to that.”

arehernandez@tribune.comor407-420-5471

SHARKSContinued from Page A1

Palm BeachAtlanticUniversity’sStephenKajiura andhis teamtook aerialphotosalong thecoast dur-ing peakseason —JanuarythroughMarch —that re-vealedhundredsof blacktipand spinnersharks.

MARKMOHLMANN/PALM BEACHATLANTICUNIVERSITY

The nonprofit research group OCEARCH affixed a locater tag

to Katharine’s dorsal fin. Every time she crests the surface,

the device sends a ping indicating her location and allowing

scientists to map her movements.

STAFF GRAPHICSOURCE: ocearch.org

Tracking Katharine the shark

MonomoyNational Wildlife

Refuge, Mass.

N.C.

Va.

S.C.

Ga.

Fla.

FLORIDAMaparea

Jacksonville

DaytonaBeach

Titusville

AtlanticOcean

Path of greatwhite sharkKatharine

MILES0 10

AtlanticOcean

DaytonaBeach

Currentlocation

AtlanticOcean

DaytonaBeach

Currentlocation

BeachBeach

Mapdetail,

right

How to avoidshark attacks■ Avoid nighttime swimswhen sharks are mostactive.■ Avoid wearing shinyjewelry, brightly colored orpatterned clothing.■ Don’t swim if you’rebleeding. Sharks can smellblood from far away.■ Stay clear of baitfish. Apredator is never too farfrom its prey.■ Stay calm if you do see ashark, and maintain yourposition as quietly aspossible. Most sharksmerely are curious and willleave on their own.

SOURCE: InternationalShark Attack File

Where towatch sharksOCEARCH: ocearch.orgNova SoutheasternUniversity:nova.edu/ocean/ghri/tracking/

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