Shark Day at ABC6

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WLNE) — ABC6 Chief Stormtracker Meteorologist Kristina Shalhoup brings marine life right to ABC6 with Shark Day!

Shalhoup dove into the University of Rhode Island’s shark programs to learn about the conservation efforts being done to protect sharks in the Ocean State, highlight the different marine life found just off the coast, and understand what sharks really eat.

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WLNE) — A group of high school students got up-close-and-personal with some of the sharks that live in Rhode Island’s waters during the University of Rhode Island’s Shark Camp.

“We’re fishing for marine life. We’re gonna catch some sharks, along with a lot of other things,” URI professor Dr. Brad Wetherbee said.

Dr. Wetherbee brought shark camp to life in 2018 in hopes of introducing our marine environment to Rhode Island students who would, otherwise, never get the chance to experience it.

“Some of them have never been on a boat. Some of them have never been to the ocean. Some of them have had very little interaction with marine life,” Wetherbee said.

Each year, applications pour in, and each year, 16 students from the Ocean State are chosen to participate and experience Cap’n Bert– a URI research vessel and the home of Shark Camp.

Over the course of five days, the kids get the chance to see the marine world in action, from the classroom, from the aquarium, and from aboard the Cap’n Bert.

When asked the best part of the camp, one camper said their favorite was the trawl.

“Yeah, the trawl… because we got to see all the different species of creatures,” camper Peyton Martin said.

Under the direction of URI teacher and boat captain Steve Barber, the Cap’n Bert navigates the Narragansett Bay and trawls for the creatures below.

“We do a survey tow every week so that we can use that data for management purposes. I’ll have the kids do some research just by sorting by species,” Barber said.

Taking part in this creature count also gives the kids a chance to get up close and personal with the animals that inhabit the bay.

Each interaction serves as a lesson, and a priceless memory for these students.

“It’s such a crazy opportunity to have this chance to get this close to marine life. And it’s just been a blast,” camper Zyere Blake said.

But the memories aren’t the only priceless part of the week, the entire camp is free for the applicants that make the cut.

The school even provides transportation to ensure that they have no problems getting from their homes to their adventures on the water, giving them the chance to learn and grow.

“I wasn’t really that interested in sharks to begin with, but I was like, ‘oh, let me learn about it and get over my fear,’ and now I’m interested,” camper Kenya Depina said.

And to cultivate what could be a lifelong love of the ocean habitat in the ocean state.

“I’ve always wanted to do marine biology in college but this is definitely where I wanna be,” camper Arianna Picard said.

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WLNE) — A crew of marine biologists and students at the University of Rhode Island are leading a change to conserve the mako sharks population.

“Mako sharks have a worldwide distribution. They’re mostly in temperate tropical waters all around the world. They’re pretty common off of the U.S. east coast, especially in the summertime, they make their way up the coast,” URI Professor Dr. Brad Wetherbee said.

The sharks swim up the coast and right to the coastal waters of Rhode Island.

“Our waters are rich in biodiversity, and there’s a lot of great people doing great work here,” URI marine biology student JoJo Macdonald said.

That work begins at URI, where Dr. Wetherbee is leading the charge on one of the biggest mako research programs in the world.

“We’ve tagged about 150 mako sharks with satellite transmitters to try and find out where they go, the boundaries of their population, the different demographics,” Wetherbee said.

Finding and tagging 150 sharks is no easy feat and takes a lot of patience and strength.

“We haven’t caught anything yet but we’re manifesting our mako sharks,” URI graduate Mia Gomez said.

“We’ll be reeling them in for what can be up to 45 minutes sometimes depending how big they are,” URI marine biology student Luke Johnson said.

It also takes very specific gear.

“So this is a circle hook. We use these to catch these sharks because we get them right in the mouth, and if they swallow the hook they can just spit it back up and it won’t get caught on their stomachs,” Johnson said.

“So Kristina today is wearing our black magic equalizer, which is a special belt and harness setup that we have. So when she catches her first shark today, it’ll take the pressure off of her and it’ll be easier to catch the shark,” URI graduate student Joseph Candia said.

This team has had enough experiences with makos to go around.

“I mean the wild sharks, bringing them on the boat and getting to work with them, it’s just the most insane thing in the world,” Johnson said.

The goal of all this is to help manage a population that has had a history of struggle.

“They’re highly sought after game fish. They put up a good fight they jump out of the water…they’re good to eat. It’s kind of like sword fish without the bones. So there’s a lot of people all around the world that are catching mako sharks. So as a result of that in the North Atlantic, where we are, mako sharks have been overfished. Populations have declined over the years,” Wetherbee said.

Overfishing is a danger in itself, but it’s made worse by sharks’ slow growth and reproduction rates. But thanks, in part, to the work being done by the crew aboard the Hope Hudner, the fastest sharks in the ocean may swim another day.

“It’s just an opportunity that I never thought I would be able to have and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity,” Candia said.

“I get to be on a boat almost every day this summer looking at animals that I’ve only dreamt about and read books about,” Johnson said. “This is my absolute dream job.”

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WLNE) — University of Rhode Island marine biologists and students track and research sharks that live off the coast of the Ocean State, as well as their prey.

“There’s a lot of sharks that are up here. There’s more and more sharks as the populations increase, as the prey availability changes, as the water gets a little warmer,” URI professor Dr. Brad Wetherbee said.

URI graduate student Joseph Candia said sharks eat a “wide range of foods.”

“I study sharks that are filter-feeders, and they eat plankton which are really teeny tiny organisms, whether they be plant or animals, mostly animal, plankton, or zooplankton…sharks are typically carnivorous so sharks can eat fish and squid and octopi and even mammals such as seals,” Candia said.

While that menu may seem pretty long, sharks don’t eat a lot.

“It’s kind of a misconception that sharks are always out there looking for something to eat, when actually, sharks have a low rate of consumption compared to most fish,” Wetherbee said.

In fact, sharks’ rate of snacking isn’t too far off from that of the average human.

“They eat between 1-3% of their body weight per day, of the sharks that have been studied, which is really small. There are some fish like mahi mahi and cobia which eat 100% of their bodyweight in a day,” Wetherbee said.

While sharks may not be considered “picky,” they’re not looking for humans as a snack.

“Sharks really can eat a wide range, but sharks typically do have a preferred diet that they stick to,” Candia said.

“Sharks usually will never go after humans in any way– usually if there’s a bite it’s because of a misconception for another animal like a seal or a turtle,” URI marine biology student Luke Johnson said.

As much as people may think humans seem appetizing to the sharks that swim in the water, humans aren’t on the menu.