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Last Week! Bring on the sharks and rays


This week I am in the field catching harks at rays at Orpheus Island where there is a research station owned by James Cook University. Each day we get up early (around 5:30-6am)so that we can get some work done before low tide at 12pm. We take all out of gear and equipment and place it on an ocean kayak which we drag along with us as we search for rays and baby black tips in the mangroves. Once we spot one we place a drop net around it so that it is trapped in a circle and then we use a hand set to take it out. We determine and record the species, sex, disc width, catch time, and GPS coordinates of the catch location. We then tag it and take a tissue sample, a genetic sample, and if possible a blood sample. One person then runs back on to the island with the blood sample so that it can be placed in the centrifuge immediately before the blood can coagulate. The other people then release the tagged ray and record the release time and what state the ray or shark is in, for example is it swimming away, it is not moving, or worst case scenario, is it dead? I’m only on my second day here and so far we have caught 8 rays and 5 blacktips. Tomorrow we will head to another nearby bay on the island and hope to find some new animals to tag.

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