BAFFIN ISLAND (CANADA)- Researchers have started tagging Greenland sharks in the cold waters off Baffin Island, in the Canadian Arctic sea.
The tagging is part of a research of the University of Windsor with the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans in an effort to eventually establish commercial fisheries for Inuit.
The researchers were tagging and tracking Greenland halibut, also known as turbot. They’re also tagging Greenland sharks, the main predator of the turbot. Reason is that still not too much is known about these shark species.
Often fisherman catch sharks in the long line. It becomes a bit of nuisance, according to the researchers.
The sharks were tagged with a transmitter that will first track their patterns for three months. After that, they will disconnect from the shark and bob to the surface, where they will transmit the collected data to satellites, which relay the information home.
The tagging was done by a trio of men hanging themselves over the side of a small zodiac boat and working in the icy cold water.
Read more at CBC.