The North Sound
The North Sound with net and holding pen locations |
June 1, 2012
The fishing started off with a large angry storm system just before we set our nets. We decided to delay setting until the storm had passed, which turned out to be the right call as lightning was everywhere and the downpour of rain made it difficult to see very far in front of you.
However once that storm cell cleared we were back in business. Off to our nets and the holding pens for the sharks, along with Jean's pens for his trials
The night yielded 48 sharks in total. 30 of them were new captures, and 18 were recaptures. Net 1 had the most sharks with 21, net 2 had 16, and net 3 had 12.
June 2, 2012
The second night of North Sound fishing started on time thanks to no storm systems in the area, however it was very windy. This night was much slower, only yielding 11 sharks. Net 1 still lead with 7 sharks, net 2 had 4, and poor net 3 was skunked for the night.
We were treated to a lovely sunset to start the night though
Here we are working up one of the 11 sharks from the night. We measure its Pre Caudal Length (PCL), which is its nose to the notch right before its tail, its Fork Length (FL) which is the nose to the fork in its tail, Total Length (TL), which is the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, and Dorsal Precaudal (DP) which is the front edge of the dorsal fin to the PCL. We also insert the PIT tag up at the first dorsal fin in every shark that does not already have one from a previous capture.
We then take a DNA sample from each shark, which is a small fin clip from its dorsal fin. Finally we weigh them and put them into the pens.
June 3, 2012
Night 3 of the North Sound was very still - little to no wind which meant the bugs were in full force for all of the boats. It wasn't until after midnight that the first of two sharks were caught in net 1. The tide was too low for them to bring over right away so it was a quiet evening on the tagging boat. Finally around 6am the tide was right to bring over the two neonates to be worked up. They were the only two of the evening! Both nets 2 and 3 were skunked for the night.
The night of June 4th is a "rest" day, meaning no fishing. Night 4 of the North Sound will begin on June 5th. In the meantime the nets will be fixed, any gear that needs fixing will be looked at, and Jean, one of our Principal Investigators will continue his observations of the sharks caught during PIT for his PhD project. To learn about Jean and his project, click here.
Total for the North Sound so far: 61
June 5, 2012
Night 4 of the North sound saw new crews for the net boats and tagging boats. Fewer people went out due to fewer sharks that would be caught. The first half of the night was uneventful shark wise, as the first one was not caught until 3 in the morning. Another caught at 4am, and the final at 6am. Net 1 had 2 of the sharks and net 2 had 1. Poor net 3 was skunked that night!
Some of the babies in the pens
June 6, 2012
Night 5 of the North sound! We all thought we weren't going to get but a couple sharks that night since the previous one only saw 3. The net boats went out to set and the tagging boat stayed back to be the food run at midnight. However we were suprised that Net 1 was getting sharks not long after they had set! By the time the tagging boat got out to the North sound with the food run, net 1 had caught 5 sharks, and net 3 had 1! Dinner was quickly eaten and then sharks were brought over after their checks to work up. This night we saw the largest shark of the nursary caught with a total length of 116 cm! And suprisingly enough she had not been caught before, so she was a rather large new capture. Come 4am we caught the 7th and final shark of the night over in net 1, meaning it was net 2 this time that caught none.
The big girl next to one of the babies
June 7, 2012
The final night of the North sound for PIT 2012! We caught 3 sharks very early in the night so the rest of the evening was uneventful for the tagging boat. The wind stayed blowing at a comfortable level and kept away most of the bugs from everyone.
Here are the numbers from the North Sound:
Total: 74
Recaps: 28 New captures: 46
Largest total length: 116 cm Smallest total length: 58.7 cm
Net 1: 39, Net 2: 21, Net 3: 14
Males: 36 Females 38
Young of year: 45, Born another year: 29
June 8-12, 2012
During this 5 day period there is no fishing in either nursery. We take this time to
get all the nets fixed,
tear down the net pens and move them to the Sharkland nursary, and Jean is continuing his trials in the North Sound.
Tristan pointing out sharks
Bryan K. holding a shark while Jean scans its PIT tag
We will also be setting our shallow water long lines for our monthly survey. We have also gone out trolling for long line bait and caught all we needed!
The 'cuda catchers
The PIT 2012 Lemon Shark Census continues in Sharkland on June 13th.
To see the rest of the web journal Click Here!
