The first shark has been tagged
14 March 2010
Logbook "MADE" - D8 & 9
During the morning of the 13th, we managed to find a FAD belonging to a french purse seiner.
We then started the usual protocol which is first to conduct underwater visual observations. We could then notice the presence of 2 small silky sharks, one of the major species that we want to tag. We then attached scientific buoys to the FAD.
In the afternoon, we could tag one of the sharks. We surgically implanted an acoustic tag in the body cavity, and then intalled mini PAT tag on its back. The latter was attached to the dorsal fin using a plastic bolt through the fin. The tag is programed to release after 100 days (and then trans,it its data through ARGOS), or earlier if the attachment does not last as long as planned. It is the first shark in the world of this size that has been tagged with such a tag.
During the morning of the 14th, we had just started to tag other fish around this FAD (an oceanic triggerfish) when a big storm came through with winds up to 40 knot. We then decided to leave the area where storms were coming one after the other. We only managed to find some calmer weather by late afternoon after moving several miles to the east.
L. Dagorn
Follow the events of the cruise with the daily logbook displayed here.
Feel free to ask questions to the scientific team onboard the Inventive.
