PORT ARTHUR, Texas The image of the triangular fin slicing across the ocean's surface can still spark panic among beachgoers, but despite their Hollywood badboy image, some sharks face an uncertain future as some species take their places among the endangered.

By tagging 200 sharks and collecting data on their behavior, a group of fishing guides and clubs in the Port Arthur area hope to shed some light on the importance of oil rigs to these fish and find ways to better protect a fish that is seeing its numbers drop around the world.

Chester Moore, a Port Arthur-area outdoors writer who is leading the Sea Grant-sponsored project, said that by tagging Atlantic sharpnose sharks caught near offshore platforms, researchers may be able to determine how much time sharks spend around oil rigs and whether they return to the same rigs year after year.

"If we could estimate the number of sharks that use these rigs throughout the season - when they migrate in from deeper Gulf waters - we would have a better understanding of how important these platforms are to sharks," he said.

The area from the Mississippi River delta to Texas' Matagorda Island is prime pupping grounds for many of the Gulf of Mexico's shark species, Moore said. Sharks come to these areas because of the abundance of food.

Offshore oil rigs may also attract sharks with an abundant food supply, he said. The structures attract a wide variety of fish, providing plenty of meals for hungry sharks.

Moore said sharks may develop territorial ties to these rigs, which could pose conservation concerns in situations when platforms are removed. The study may provide scientists and policymakers with the information they need to enhance shark habitat and boost the animal's numbers, he said.

"Right now, sharks are at the forefront of conservation issues simply because of the amount of commercial pressure and bycatch," he said.

Seventy million sharks are killed every year around the world, Moore said . They are taken because of the high demand for their dorsal fins. Sharks are also caught as bycatch in fisheries, such as those for tuna, swordfish and grouper.

Sharks can't withstand the pressure that other species can because of their slow reproduction rates, he said. On average, sharks take seven years to reach sexual maturity and produce two to 10 pups a year. This is in contrast to redfish, which produce hundreds of thousands of young at a time yet are still seeing their numbers plummet, Moore said.

"Sharks are not made to be harvested a lot," he said. "They can't sustain a high level of harvest simply because they can't replenish themselves."

Moore said he has fishermen and fishing clubs ready to go out to catch and release sharks and look for ones that have been tagged. Working with Jefferson/Chambers County marine agent Terrie Ling, Moore hopes to start tagging sharks this month and expects the study to last for at least a year in order to gather enough data.

"If we tag 200 sharks and we get two recaught, that would be a great recatch rate," he said. "We're expecting pretty good rates simply because of the pressure that's on the area."

Besides gathering scientific data that will be used to determine the range and behavior of sharks, the project will also raise the public's awareness about sharks and conservation, especially along Texas's upper coast, Moore said.

"If there's something about these areas that we find helpful, it may be applicable to other shark species," he said. "Sharks are the apex predators of the ocean. If the apex predator is taken away, what will happen to the ocean?"

Ben Sherman, Media Relations Coordinator
National Sea Grant College Program
841 National Press Building
529 14th Street NW
Washington D.C. 20045-2277
Phone: 202-662-7095 Fax: 202-662-7093
E-Mail: Sherman@nasw.org

For more information about this story contact:
Chester Moore at (409) 882-0945 or
Mark Evans at (409) 862-3770 or mark-evans@tamu.edu