One of the most ambitious expeditions ever to tag great white sharks will set sail tomorrow (July 30) off Cape Cod, Mass. The researchers hope to tag as many as 20 of the enormous sharks, about which very little is known.
The project is expected to be the largest shark-tagging mission in U.S. history, according to the nonprofit shark research group OCEARCH, which is leading the mission along with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The effort is part of an initiative to better understand the animals and to inform the public about the importance of sharks, which serve as top predators and are vital for the proper function of ocean food webs, said WHOI researcher Simon Thorrold. As many as 100 million sharks are killed per year due to both legal and illegal fishing, a recent study found.
Image: i.livescience.com
To read the full, original article click on this link: Great White Mystery: Expedition to Unravel Shark Secrets | LiveScience
