I would have to say if I was keeping track of what this year has been thus far, I would call it the "Year of The Shark". We have had our share of great turtle news this year but by far our involvement with the ultrasound research of sharks has been the most exciting. The image below provides an up close and personal look at what it looks like on a research expedition with the OCEARCH team as they tag, blood sample and of course ultrasound a Great White Shark.
This particular shark is a younger immature female shark that weighs in at about 1400 pounds and is approximately 12 to 13 feet long. Great White Sharks can be much larger but this one look large enough for anyone wading around in the water.
To have an up close and personal look at the process of catching a Great White Shark and to show the excitement of the idea that a large fish of this size is being captured and researched, the below video captured by the News 5 team at WCVB is a good look. Beginning at the 1:05 mark of the video you can see an UNF researcher using the Ibex® Portable Ultrasound System and the Insite®2 Headset Goggles to view the ultrasound image of the shark. This particular female was not pregnant with any pups but had she been pregnant, they would have been able to make that determination using the trans-abdominal transducer they were using in the testing.
This video is shared by the OCEARCH team and gives and even better look as they determine that the shark was not pregnant. It also gives a first hand look at the precision with which they handle the testing and the steps they go through for just one of these magnificent sharks.
The team have named the shark Betsy, after the very first diesel engine made by the Caterpillar company. You can track Betsy's whereabouts now using the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker The excitement continues on this expedition through the end of the month and we will be following along with their progress hoping they get a chance to ultrasound a pregnant female or at least an opportunity to catch and tag another Great White Shark! Our congratulations on a job well done for the team of OCEARCH.
If you want to find out more about the ultrasound being performed on the Great White Sharks and need further information about the equipment being used, please contact us and we would be happy to answer any questions.
