AD 2018 Q1

and posture, which indicate its
general well-being and behavior.
Mote scientists used these
data to study how catch-andrelease
activities affect sharks,
identifying 19 specific measures
to indicate survival and recovery.
Accelerometers cost only about 15
percent of what satellite tags cost
and can be reused multiple times.
“We hope that eventually we’ll
be able to use accelerometers to
determine things like when and
where sharks feed and mate,”
Hueter said. These additional
details about where sharks go and
when and what they do there will
help improve management and
conservation of these species. For
example, tagging data can help
scientists determine a species’
home range as well as how much
of that range falls within protected
areas or overlaps with commercial
fishing areas, Hammershlag
said. That makes it possible to
configure boundaries of both
types of areas to make protections
more effective.
Why go to all this trouble to
protect sharks? Aside from their
allure for divers, these top-ofthe-food-chain
predators play
key roles in healthy oceans.
“Eliminating sharks
destabilizes the balance of the
ecosystem,” Hueter said. “You
can actually have collapse of the
system and death of habitats.
We have field studies that
show that shark depletion from
overfishing has resounding,
profound effects on habitats
such as coral reefs.”
Sharks also have significant
economic value. Scientists estimate
that shark tourism generates
more than $314 million annually
worldwide, including some $124
million in the Caribbean, $40
million in Australia and New
Zealand, $80 million in the
Bahamas and $20 million in the
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