Monterey Aquarium Shark Makes Good Time To Baja

March 20, 2008

Release from: NBC11.com (California)

The white shark that was once on display at the Monterey Bay Aquarium made it to the Baja peninsula in a third of the time it took its predecessors, aquarium officials said.

The shark was released back into the wild six weeks ago.

The aquarium said it is tracking the shark through an electronic tracking tags.

The tag gives near real-time information on his position and is updated on a daily basis.

The male shark spent 162 days at the aquarium.

It's one of three white sharks exhibited at the aquarium since 2004.

All three have survived and thrived following their release, according to the aquarium.

The latest shark to be released is carrying two tracking tags. One of them is programmed to pop free July 2.

The tag is then scheduled to transmit stored data via satellite to researchers at the aquarium and at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove.

The second tag is supposed to be permanent. It transmits information when the shark’s dorsal fin breaks the surface of the water.

The readings show the white shark made it safely past fishing grounds on the Pacific coast of California and the Baja Peninsula, rounded Cabo San Lucas and is heading toward the Mexican mainland just 44 days after his return to the wild.

A pop-up tag placed on a female white shark released in 2005 showed the shark traveled from the Monterey Bay to Santa Barbara during her first 30 days back in the wild. The second shark reached Cabo San Lucas 90 days after his release in 2007.

"It’s remarkable," aquarium spokesman Randy Hamilton said. "To travel that far, that fast was totally unexpected. It’s another reminder of just how little we know about what these animals do in the wild."

"Where will this shark end up?" he asked. "Will it turn north into the Gulf of California? It’s anybody’s guess. What we’re learning adds tremendously to what little is known about the lives of young white sharks."

The shark was caught accidentally on August 4, 2007 off Ventura by a commercial fisherman.