Shark education
Project Leader: Jeffrey Graham
Background
The support given by SOSF has allowed this program to substantially expand both the research aspect of its work, which primarily involves field sampling, while also increasing public awareness in Mexico and US over the impact of over-fishing. SOSF funding has also enabled the creation of public education programs and teachers’ workshops at the Birch aquarium.
Research
To describe the artisanal and commercial shark fisheries of the north-western coast of Baja California in order to assess the impact of these fisheries on the shark population and link assessments to sustainable management of the thresher (Alopiidae) and other pelagic sharks in US and Mexican waters. The research will also investigate the habitats of juvenile thresher sharks in Mexican waters through the use of long-line surveys, acoustic tracking and archival tagging.
Aims & objectives
This successful project will expand in 2008 to develop an educational outreach program about marine conservation in general and shark conservation in particular, with work focused in Southern California, U.S. & Baja California, Mexico.