Page 59 - Shark

Tagging Red flag, Pale blue flags
6dorsal fin symbol show two
The tag is made of of UK’s sharks were
strong metal that will Shark released
not corrode in seawater Angling Club
and cause the plastic
numbered tag to drop
out. On the reverse side
of the tag is an address
to where the tag can be
sent, should another
angler or fisherman
catch the tagged shark
again in another part
of the world.

releasing
7Holding the
shark by her
tail, the skipper
gently lowers
her back into
the sea. Once in
the water, the
shark swims
away as fast
as she can.

holding The shark down
5This female blue shark is 5 ft (1.5 m)
long and weighs about 50 1b (22.5 kg). The
skipper holds her down and gets ready to insert
the tag. The shark can tolerate being out of the water
for only a few minutes, so he has to work quickly to put
the tag into her dorsal fin. Buckets of saltwater are thrown
onto the shark to help keep her alive. In other tagging
studies, the shark is brought close to the boat and not landed
to keep from damaging it. Then a pole is used to stick the tag
into the shark (pp. 28–29).

Threshing shark
4 The skipper begins to haul the threshing
shark in, but it fights every bit of the way.