Junior SeaKeepers 2023-24 Graduation Floating Classroom - Shark Tagging with UM SRC

Overview

On Saturday, June 15th, 2024, The International SeaKeepers Society’s Education and Outreach team hosted 8 of our graduating Junior Seakeepers 23-24 cohort students on our final floating classroom of the year, a shark tagging research expedition with Dr. Catherine Macdonald and her teams with the University of Miami Shark Research and Conservation Program and Field School aboard UM’s vessel R/V Garvin. To begin our day, we hopped aboard R/V Garvin and briefly discussed vessel safety as well as an introduction to the work done by the SRC and Field School teams with the data collected from their regular shark tagging expeditions. Due to calm weather conditions following a week of record-breaking rain, the team took our students to a nearshore site off of South Miami for this trip as opposed to their normal tagging sites in South Biscayne Bay. Not only were calm seas conducive to sampling this area, but working outside of the Bay after so much rain also meant that water quality conditions were better and could potentially lead to more shark sightings.

Once we arrived at each of 10 sampling locations, the Junior SeaKeepers were able to assist the crew with baiting and setting drum lines, a fishing method that is used to sample large marine predators like sharks with minimal potential for stress. After all of our drum lines were baited and set, we allowed them to “soak” for a set amount of time before heading back to each sampling site to check the lines. While we waited, we were able to use our brand new Biscayne Bay ecosystem ID guides created in collaboration with Canvas of the Wild to identify some of the flora and fauna species that were present at and above the waterline.

Throughout the day, the Junior SeaKeepers were able to assist the SRC and Field School research teams in surveying and tagging 7 sharks of 4 different species - 4 Nurse sharks, a sub-adult Great Hammerhead shark, a Bull shark, and an elusive Caribbean Reef shark! Through this process, students were not only able to see these majestic apex predators up close, but were even able to directly assist in the measurement, tagging, and collection of tissues like fin clips and parasites from the sampled individuals. As each shark was sampled, the research teams also gave students more insight into its physiology, behavior, and more using their extensive knowledge and experience. By the time we concluded our trip, students had been lucky enough to collect a wide range of information about different shark species and the work that is being done to conserve them right here in our backyard of South Florida - a rare experience for high schoolers anywhere in the world!

By attending floating classroom outings throughout the program, Junior SeaKeepers were able to take lessons they learned from webinars, workshops, and cleanups and apply them directly to the local natural environment. In this final floating classroom for our graduating students, our Junior SeaKeepers were able to connect the information received from Dr. Catherine Macdonald during our webinar series to the real world so that they can understand the value that coastal spaces like Biscayne Bay hold as wildlife refuges that support unique South Florida species like the sharks we saw on our trip. In concluding our Junior SeaKeepers program for 2023-24, we hope that our participating students are leaving this year-long experience with us with a better understanding of how their everyday choices impact the world around them and the different ways that they can utilize their personal interests and skills to help restore healthy global ocean ecosystems.

We look forward to supporting our 2023-24 Junior SeaKeepers in their future endeavors, and hope you will join us in wishing them congratulations for completing our program!

Applications for the 2024-25 Junior SeaKeepers professional development and scholarship program are open now on our website until September 2024.