Welcome to the web journal for the Bimini Biological Field Station-Sharklab's annual juvenile lemon shark census of the Bimini Lagoon - what we call the PIT Project 2008 edition. PIT stands for "passive integrated transponder" and refers to the type of tag we implant in the juvenile lemon sharks to electronically identify them. More informally, PIT tags are referred to as "personal identification tags" as each rice grain sized tag carries a unique alphanumeric code to differentiate the individual it is inserted in. What the PIT project means is an intensive couple weeks of long work days, lots of sharks, continuous cleaning and repair of gear, copious amounts of food to cook and serve, and the forging of cameraderie through the vehicles of tight living quarters and efforts toward a common goal. While the work is hard, it can be both exciting and very rewarding at the same time. For every rainstorm and mosquito bite, there is a gorgeous sunset on the water or extraordinary encounter with rare marine life to balance things out and make it all worth it. This year Doc is taking a step back and only staying for a few days during PIT. We are happy to welcome Bryan back into his new role as Lab director. We have a large staff who should be able to help him take the reigns and lead a successful effort. We have a mostly experienced crew and and the lab is better prepared for PIT this year than I can ever remember them being. This PIT will also be a special one, as all three of the principal investigators, Joey, Steve, and Tristan will be completing their research by the end of the year and it may be their last PIT experiences. Next year we will have a new regime with new PIs, so all the veterans want to pull together and complete PIT with flawless execution. Please follow along as we document the lemon shark population of the Bimini Lagoon. We hope to communicate our passion for sharks through our research, sweat, and even blood (though we want to keep shark bites to a minimum). Sharklab is as much about people as it is sharks, so along the way we hope to give an insight into the individuals here and why they stay up all night in a mangrove swamp to complete their tasks and why they come home after sunrise with big smiles on their faces... The nets are ready and the team is eager so stay tuned...