Feb. 15, 2008 — Thanks to a $5,800 grant from the New England Biolabs Foundation, juvenile shark research will continue at Coral Bay and Fish Bay, St. John.
The grant was made to the Coral Bay Community Council and researchers Bryan DeAngelis and Greg Skomal of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
DeAngelis has been studying sharks in the territory since 2004. In 2006, he and Skomal started collaborating with other NOAA scientists to track shark movements in the Virgin Islands, with an emphasis on shark nursery areas.
According to a press release from the Community Council, the Coral Bay inner harbor provides essential nursery habitat for lemon shark and blacktip shark species.
“Our research has demonstrated that the shallow waters of Coral Harbor and Lagoon Point are among the most productive shark nursery areas in St. Thomas and St. John," DeAngelis said.
Rafe Boulon, chief of resource management at V.I. National Park on St. John, said that sharks are an important component of the marine ecosystem.
"Ecosystems without sharks are generally in very poor health. Without them, you generally have an explosion of herbivores," he said, referring to the algae-eating fish that keep the reefs clean.
Boulon said sharks are natural predators that feed on smaller predator fish like jacks and some of the larger groupers and snappers.
DeAngelis said that since 2005, 46 logline fishing sets were conducted in Coral Harbor. He said the average catch rate was 8.1 sharks per 100 hook hours.
When the sharks are caught, they are tagged with a numeric tag on their dorsal fin, which provides the researchers with valuable information if the shark is captured again. Other sharks are implanted with small acoustic transmitters that allow the shark to be electronically tracked for up to one year.
If you catch one of these tagged sharks, please note the number on the tag, fork length of the fish and location of capture, and return the tag for a reward. To report the catch, call the Community Council at 776-2099 or email [email protected].
A summary handout on results of the Coral Bay research study to-date is available on the Community Council website .
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