URI marine biologists and students dive into mako shark conservation

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.”