World's Largest Shark Survey Grew From a Hammerhead Into a Great White

MIAMI, FL — Already billed as the world's largest shark survey, the Global FinPrint just grew from the size of a hammerhead into a great white, according to Florida International University.

The first-ever global survey of sharks and rays reached its goal of exploring 216 reefs about a year-and-a-half ahead of schedule so researchers decided to press on.

The new goal is now 400 reefs.

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“The 216 number came out of conversations based on how many reefs we would need to survey to collect enough information to answer key questions," explained FIU marine biologist Demian Chapman, who is leading the project.

"We are locating reefs that have the highest abundances of sharks and rays, reefs that still harbor particularly threatened species, and reefs that have greater abundances of sharks and rays than we would predict based on the level of fishing experienced,” Chapman added.

Launched during the 2015 Shark Week, Global FinPrint is a three-year project to search for the last remaining strongholds of sharks and rays around the world. Researchers set up an average of 50 baited remote underwater video cameras or BRUVs on each reef and colllect about 60-80 minutes of footage each.

The 216th reef goal was achieved in Belize at Glover’s Reef. It was fitting since that's also where Chapman first deployed BRUVs and where the idea for the global project was hatched.

Nearly a quarter of shark and ray species are threatened by extinction, according to FIU. The lack of comprehensive, up-to-date data on species abundance and distribution is hindering efforts to protect and replenish them.

“The analyses we conduct will provide new insights into what socioeconomic, management, and environmental features create the conditions that are conducive to healthy reef shark and ray populations, thus highlighting how we can restore these conditions upon a global scale," said Chapman, an associate professor in the College of Arts, Sciences & Education.

The project received its core funding from Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen.

Just days after wrapping up on Glover’s Reef, teams also finished surveys along the island of Moorea in French Polynesia and several reefs along the coast of Qatar.

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“This is the first world-wide census of reef sharks and it’s an amazing testament to the professionalism and passion of the scientists involved to complete 216 reefs more than a year early,” said James Deutsch, director of wildlife conservation for Paul Allen. “Counting sharks in additional ecosystems will give us even greater information on which to build conservation efforts, which is exactly on target with Paul Allen’s approach.”

The project has sampled populated coastlines along the United States, remote reaches of Northern Australia and a variety of reefs, both large and small, throughout the world. More than 11,000 hours of video footage has been collected. More than 50 partner organizations have joined Global FinPrint, assisting with BRUV deployments and data collection.

“From our initial impressions, we are seeing that very remote reefs and large protected areas often have lots of sharks,” Chapman said. “What is surprising, though, is that we’re finding a high number of sharks in some populated areas where there is also a large amount shark fishing. We need to drill down and figure out what is happening in these areas that enables people, sharks and shark fisheries to coexist.”

The data will be open-access and made available through a database platform created by Allen’s Vulcan Inc. It will include information on species density, habitats and diversity trends.

For more information visit the Global FinPrint website at globalfinprint.org or follow the project on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Photo by Florida International University