A satellite reporting tagging device known as a Spot tag, attached to a shortfin mako shark dubbed “Carol” in New Zealand five months ago, is providing scientists with remarkable and previously unknown details of the timing and long-distance migratory movements of this species.
The Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University in Florida is collaborating with the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research on the tagging experiment with Carol the shortfin mako shark.
The Spot tag is revealing that Carol is spending a lot of time at the ocean’s surface, reporting her location to the satellite several times daily.
“The unexpectedly frequent daily detections are providing us with a really high resolution view of the migration of this animal,” said Guy Harvey institute director Dr. Mahmood Shivji. “We’ve found that Carol has traveled over 5,700 miles in five months, averaging 60 miles per day during some parts of her migration — and this is just a juvenile shark.”
Click here to follow Carol’s travels on an institute interactive website.
