Watch Shark Week Live with HRI Researchers July 30 at Brewster Street Ice House
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Calling all shark “fin”-atics: The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi invites you to dive deeper and watch Shark Week live with our real shark researchers.
HRI’s third annual “Shark Week Live” will be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, July 30 at Brewster Street Ice House, 1724 N. Tancahua St., Corpus Christi. Admission is free, and the event is open to the public.
A special meet and greet with our shark researchers and shark-tagging demonstrations will begin at 6 p.m. Visitors can stop by event stations that include interactive booths where guests can check out HRI’s shark science gear and learn to identify, tag and track real sharks in the Gulf of Mexico. Shark Week programming will be shown live throughout the event, and visitors can watch while enjoying shark-themed food and drink specials. There will be also be a Q&A with HRI officials along with shark-themed giveaways for children and adults throughout the night.
“Sharks are great ambassadors for the ocean,” said Dr. Greg Stunz, HRI Endowed Chair for Fisheries and Ocean Health and Sportfish Center Director. “Most people are naturally curious about sharks, and with the help of these charismatic animals, we have a great opportunity to teach children and adults about why healthy oceans are key to the well-being of us and the planet. Sharks are the key that opens the door for scientific curiosity and learning.”
Researchers from HRI’s Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation have filmed five specials for Shark Week featuring its work tagging and tracking sharks off the beaches and on artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, especially the elusive Mako shark. Episode stars, including Stunz, who has been a featured shark expert on numerous Discovery Channel and National Geographic programs, will be on hand to talk about this work, how it helps us better understand the behavior of sharks in the Gulf, and what it’s like filming for Shark Week.
Gulf Coast residents, especially fishermen, play a huge role in the way HRI researchers study sharks. The Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation is home to the largest shark-tagging program in the western Gulf of Mexico. Sportfish Center researchers use the latest in wildlife tracking technology, including satellite tags that allow for the real-time tracking of sharks.
“The Sportfish Center has greatly expanded our tagging program, and we are proud to include a large citizen-science element,” Stunz said. “Through this program, everyday anglers can participate in collecting valuable scientific data by tagging sharks, or if lucky enough, report the capture of a tagged fish and claim a reward.”
With online mapping tools provided by the nonprofit OCEARCH, everyone can follow the movement of these sharks online at OCEARCH.org or by downloading the Shark Tracker app for iOS or Android. To date, these citizen-science anglers have helped the Sportfish Center tag over 6,000 sharks.
“This amount of effort and costs could have never been possible by scientists working alone. Plus, this adds a new dimension to the angling experience, as everyday folks can contribute to the conservation of these amazing animals,” Stunz said.
Additional Information
You can follow the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation on Facebook and Twitter. For more information about Shark Week or the shark tagging program visit SportfishCenter.org.
