For decades, the movie “Jaws” was the model for how lots of people viewed great white sharks and caused many to fear the ocean. But in 2012, that image softened when a 16-foot, 3,456-pound female named Mary Lee was briefly captured and tagged off the coast of Cape Cod by the non-profit group OCEARCH. For five years, shark lovers followed every ping from her transmitter over her 40,000-mile-long trek with great interest on the ocearch.org tracker page. Every time she came close to beaches — which happened frequently — she made the local news. She even had her own Twitter page and helped change the image of the much-maligned species, which has proved to be critical to the health of the ocean’s inhabitants. The reality is since 1580, there have been only 52 documented deaths attributable to great white sharks, which is about the yearly number of deaths of people taking selfies.
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OCEARCH’s founder is Chris Fischer, who got involved with sharks toward the end of his run, filming the ESPN fishing series “Offshore Adventures,” which ran for 188 episodes from 2002 to 2008.
“While we were making the show, I joined the board of the Billfish Foundation, said Fischer, “and at our board meetings, we were getting reports from biologists who were studying billfish in California and Central America, and it didn’t really sync up what I was seeing on the water. I soon realized one of the problems was when marine biologists who collect the data graduate from school, many are tasked to catch fish and drive a boat, which takes many years to learn.”
So, to help them learn from real-world experiences, he invited scientists to join his expeditions, and according to Fischer, “We started exploding their rate of quality data collection, and I realized the value of bringing both worlds together; you know, book smarts meet streets smarts. So, we were able to build trust in the billfish research space, which helped us later on.”
Great White Sharks are a Keystone Species
In 2006, Fisher saw a study that changed his career path. “I read that a large percentage of our large shark population was seeing ecosystems collapse due to many factors like long-lining along with the practice of ‘finning’ to make soup,” said Fischer, “and the author of that report told me if we don’t fix this, this whole recreational fishing thing we’ve been enjoying won’t continue to exist.”
Removing keystone species like great whites and other sharks from the ecosystem had a profound effect. In the United States, the Marine Mammal Protection Act was helping the seal population grow, but with fewer great whites to keep their population in balance, coastal populations of sportfish and forage fish like menhaden were suffering. In addition, during squid migrations, without sharks to help thin the schools, the voracious squid were devouring the pelagic species’ fry. Fischer asked how data was being collected on white sharks. And the researcher said, “They’re so big, we’ve rarely been able to catch one and study them. We don’t know where they mate, where they give birth and don’t know their full range, and if we don’t gain this knowledge to help bring them back, the outcome will be bleak.”
Fisher said he was shocked and looked at Capt. McBride and asked, “If we don’t do this, then who? What was impossible for a scientist and their intern on a 20-foot Boston Whaler is not that hard for skilled anglers like McBride and me to do with a ship equipped with a lift.” So, they traded their luxurious 72-foot Elliot sportfishing yacht for a 125-foot former crab boat with a cruise speed of 9 knots and went on a hunt for great white sharks...to study.
How to Catch a Great White Shark
Chris Fischer shares the secrets OCEARCH uses to catch these massive predators weighing up to 4,000 pounds.
After some trial and error, we learned the trick to catching a great white is to not let them know you’re catching them, which allows us to deliver it to the waiting scientists in a natural, unstressed state. We drop an anchor attached to a buoy and tie on a light monofilament leader designed to break off when the shark takes the bait. Attached to the hook and bait is a series of different-sized buoys, with the smallest nearest the bait. The buoys create a cushion as the shark pulls them down, so it doesn’t feel much pressure when it picks up the bait and swims away. Then we approach the trailing gear and start collecting the line, trying not to let the animal know we’re there.
The great white doesn’t feel pressure and continues swimming along, unaware it’s hooked. We use an accelerometer on the line to keep the pressure under five pounds, which is just enough to put it into a slow turn. Then, once it’s pointed at the ship, we let the pressure off and let it swim toward the vessel. Then, at the last minute, as it approaches the lift, which is alongside the mothership, we spin our center console boat around and attach a couple of buoys to a ring about three feet in front of the hook so the fish can’t dive down. Then we guide it onto the lift platform and raise it out of the water and let the scientists do their thing.
But in the middle of that process, a lot can go wrong, which is why we only use Yamaha outboards. Early on, we had another manufacturer give us engines, but there were times when we were fighting great white sharks that they failed at the wrong time, and it could have gotten people hurt. I called Dale Barnes at Yamaha and said, I need reliable engines, and if I have to pay for them, I will. He took me down to the Miami Boat Show, walked me around, showed me eight different boat manufacturers, and said you pick whichever one you want. Barnes told me they were happy to partner with OCEARCH through its Yamaha Rightwaters research and advocacy program, a leader in marine stewardship. One of its core goals is to support habitat restoration to create a healthy and sustainable marine environment and the work we did helped further that goal.
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Shark Tagging and Testing is Like an Indy Pit Stop
In addition to tagging great whites, turtles, whales, swordfish and other species of sharks to learn more about their movements and habitat, OCEARCH scientists also run a battery of tests conducted under the auspices of its chief scientist, Dr. Harley Newton, who is also a veterinarian. “For great whites, we run about a dozen tests and try to keep the total time down to about 15 minutes and perform them respectfully and unobtrusively,” said Newton. “Over the last ten years, our goal with the tests and tracking is to establish a baseline so that when we do the same test 20 years from now, we will have a basis for comparison to detect any major shifts in their physiology or movement. There is a major information deficit and we are working with around 200 scientists from 25 different institutions, primarily on the East Coast, to learn more.”
There have Been a Few Surprises
While New York Bight, off Long Island, was suspected to be a great white shark nursery, it wasn’t until OCEARCH tagged very young specimens that this was confirmed.
“One surprise we found,” said Newton, “was the great whites’ presence in Canadian waters, where they were considered endangered. During an expedition up north, we saw our first great white in about half an hour and caught eight animals in three weeks. During our next trip, we caught 11. We’ve tracked them from Newfoundland to Mexico — a huge range.”
OCEARCH is Moving to Jacksonville, Florida
Recently, OCEARCH broke ground on a new headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, near where the mouth of the St. John’s River meets the Atlantic. Not only is it where the boats will be stationed when not at sea, but it will also be a learning center for kids and also marine biology students at Jacksonville University, which has served as the academic home of OCEARCH for nearly a decade.
Conservation Efforts are Paying Dividends
According to Fischer, initiatives like banning inshore gillnetting, instituting slot limits, eliminating pelagic long-lining in the Florida Straits, and the Forage Fish Conservations of 2021 have all contributed to a far healthier ecosystem for sport fish and sharks in the United States. “Slot limits were an especially crucial step. The old mentality of taking large trophy fish made no sense. With slot limits, every fish that survives the slot becomes a protected breeding stock while still allowing anglers to catch fish to eat. And protecting forage fish was especially important to feed the growing population of gamefish and sharks.”
What’s the Next Challenge?
Last summer and fall, the 125-foot vessel OCEARCH traveled to Europe. Unlike the fishing ecosystem in the United States, the Mediterranean is in trouble. Several species of sharks are endangered and overfishing and pollution are two leading causes. OCEARCH’s goal is to try to tag a great white shark there and hopefully make it a media star like Mary Lee became in the U.S. to raise awareness about the ecological problems the waters in Europe are facing and kick off a multi-year research project designed to save the Mediterranean shark population.
Back to Blue Life
OCEARCH’s founder is Chris Fischer, who got involved with sharks toward the end of his run, filming the ESPN fishing series “Offshore Adventures,” which ran for 188 episodes from 2002 to 2008.
“While we were making the show, I joined the board of the Billfish Foundation, said Fischer, “and at our board meetings, we were getting reports from biologists who were studying billfish in California and Central America, and it didn’t really sync up what I was seeing on the water. I soon realized one of the problems was when marine biologists who collect the data graduate from school, many are tasked to catch fish and drive a boat, which takes many years to learn.”
So, to help them learn from real-world experiences, he invited scientists to join his expeditions, and according to Fischer, “We started exploding their rate of quality data collection, and I realized the value of bringing both worlds together; you know, book smarts meet streets smarts. So, we were able to build trust in the billfish research space, which helped us later on.”
Great White Sharks are a Keystone Species
In 2006, Fisher saw a study that changed his career path. “I read that a large percentage of our large shark population was seeing ecosystems collapse due to many factors like long-lining along with the practice of ‘finning’ to make soup,” said Fischer, “and the author of that report told me if we don’t fix this, this whole recreational fishing thing we’ve been enjoying won’t continue to exist.”
Removing keystone species like great whites and other sharks from the ecosystem had a profound effect. In the United States, the Marine Mammal Protection Act was helping the seal population grow, but with fewer great whites to keep their population in balance, coastal populations of sportfish and forage fish like menhaden were suffering. In addition, during squid migrations, without sharks to help thin the schools, the voracious squid were devouring the pelagic species’ fry. Fischer asked how data was being collected on white sharks. And the researcher said, “They’re so big, we’ve rarely been able to catch one and study them. We don’t know where they mate, where they give birth and don’t know their full range, and if we don’t gain this knowledge to help bring them back, the outcome will be bleak.”
Fisher said he was shocked and looked at Capt. McBride and asked, “If we don’t do this, then who? What was impossible for a scientist and their intern on a 20-foot Boston Whaler is not that hard for skilled anglers like McBride and me to do with a ship equipped with a lift.” So, they traded their luxurious 72-foot Elliot sportfishing yacht for a 125-foot former crab boat with a cruise speed of 9 knots and went on a hunt for great white sharks...to study.
How to Catch a Great White Shark
Chris Fischer shares the secrets OCEARCH uses to catch these massive predators weighing up to 4,000 pounds.
After some trial and error, we learned the trick to catching a great white is to not let them know you’re catching them, which allows us to deliver it to the waiting scientists in a natural, unstressed state. We drop an anchor attached to a buoy and tie on a light monofilament leader designed to break off when the shark takes the bait. Attached to the hook and bait is a series of different-sized buoys, with the smallest nearest the bait. The buoys create a cushion as the shark pulls them down, so it doesn’t feel much pressure when it picks up the bait and swims away. Then we approach the trailing gear and start collecting the line, trying not to let the animal know we’re there.
The great white doesn’t feel pressure and continues swimming along, unaware it’s hooked. We use an accelerometer on the line to keep the pressure under five pounds, which is just enough to put it into a slow turn. Then, once it’s pointed at the ship, we let the pressure off and let it swim toward the vessel. Then, at the last minute, as it approaches the lift, which is alongside the mothership, we spin our center console boat around and attach a couple of buoys to a ring about three feet in front of the hook so the fish can’t dive down. Then we guide it onto the lift platform and raise it out of the water and let the scientists do their thing.
But in the middle of that process, a lot can go wrong, which is why we only use Yamaha outboards. Early on, we had another manufacturer give us engines, but there were times when we were fighting great white sharks that they failed at the wrong time, and it could have gotten people hurt. I called Dale Barnes at Yamaha and said, I need reliable engines, and if I have to pay for them, I will. He took me down to the Miami Boat Show, walked me around, showed me eight different boat manufacturers, and said you pick whichever one you want. Barnes told me they were happy to partner with OCEARCH through its Yamaha Rightwaters research and advocacy program, a leader in marine stewardship. One of its core goals is to support habitat restoration to create a healthy and sustainable marine environment and the work we did helped further that goal.
Shark Tagging and Testing is Like an Indy Pit Stop
In addition to tagging great whites, turtles, whales, swordfish and other species of sharks to learn more about their movements and habitat, OCEARCH scientists also run a battery of tests conducted under the auspices of its chief scientist, Dr. Harley Newton, who is also a veterinarian. “For great whites, we run about a dozen tests and try to keep the total time down to about 15 minutes and perform them respectfully and unobtrusively,” said Newton. “Over the last ten years, our goal with the tests and tracking is to establish a baseline so that when we do the same test 20 years from now, we will have a basis for comparison to detect any major shifts in their physiology or movement. There is a major information deficit and we are working with around 200 scientists from 25 different institutions, primarily on the East Coast, to learn more.”
There have Been a Few Surprises
While New York Bight, off Long Island, was suspected to be a great white shark nursery, it wasn’t until OCEARCH tagged very young specimens that this was confirmed.
“One surprise we found,” said Newton, “was the great whites’ presence in Canadian waters, where they were considered endangered. During an expedition up north, we saw our first great white in about half an hour and caught eight animals in three weeks. During our next trip, we caught 11. We’ve tracked them from Newfoundland to Mexico — a huge range.”
OCEARCH is Moving to Jacksonville, Florida
Recently, OCEARCH broke ground on a new headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida, near where the mouth of the St. John’s River meets the Atlantic. Not only is it where the boats will be stationed when not at sea, but it will also be a learning center for kids and also marine biology students at Jacksonville University, which has served as the academic home of OCEARCH for nearly a decade.
Conservation Efforts are Paying Dividends
According to Fischer, initiatives like banning inshore gillnetting, instituting slot limits, eliminating pelagic long-lining in the Florida Straits, and the Forage Fish Conservations of 2021 have all contributed to a far healthier ecosystem for sport fish and sharks in the United States. “Slot limits were an especially crucial step. The old mentality of taking large trophy fish made no sense. With slot limits, every fish that survives the slot becomes a protected breeding stock while still allowing anglers to catch fish to eat. And protecting forage fish was especially important to feed the growing population of gamefish and sharks.”
What’s the Next Challenge?
Last summer and fall, the 125-foot vessel OCEARCH traveled to Europe. Unlike the fishing ecosystem in the United States, the Mediterranean is in trouble. Several species of sharks are endangered and overfishing and pollution are two leading causes. OCEARCH’s goal is to try to tag a great white shark there and hopefully make it a media star like Mary Lee became in the U.S. to raise awareness about the ecological problems the waters in Europe are facing and kick off a multi-year research project designed to save the Mediterranean shark population.
Back to Blue Life