MARBLEHEAD SHARK Club

Educational Enrichment :: WINTER 2024 :: MARINE SCIENCES

42.29.932° N, 070.48.521° W
Marblehead Community Charter Public School

Educational Enrichment
Follow that Shark

Through a generous grant from the Friends of Marblehead Public Schools, Marblehead has joined a network of shark tracking buoys which are deployed and maintained by the Atlantic White Shark Consevancy (AWSC). The Conservancy works to support the research efforts of Dr. Greg Skomal & John Chisholm, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.

In 2009, the Biologist were the first to successfully tag and track great whites in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean using high tech tags. We now have the ability to track local and long range movements, study behavior and biology, and begin a population estimate.

In collaboration with AWSC, Marblehead Community Charter Public School will offer a year long shark enrichment program for their students. By exploring many aspects of STEM curriculum, students will become engaged in lessons on shark biology, research technology systems, data analytics, navigation & mapping, as well as the study the potential impacts the presence of an apex predator brings to local environment. We are excited to work with the school over the next year to bring shark education to the classroom!

Sharks are awesome, and tend to get a lot of attention in the media. However, they are often misrepresented and misunderstood. Atlantic White Shark Consevancy is working to change that by providing shark education and outreach to school age children as well as the general public. Educating the community and engaging children in learning opportunities connects people to one of the keystone species in our ocean’s ecosystem. AWSC provides programs not only help protect white sharks, they also provide information that helps people live harmoniously with nature.

The MH1 buoy was installed on July 22, 2016, by the Atlantic White Shark Consevancywith a donated mooring and assistance of Northeast Moorings of Marblehed. Data from the network of tracking buoys will be used to help students learn about the habits of sharks, and the health of our ocean. Students will learn how we can all help protect these amazing creatures by expanding our knowledge of the oceans and the life they support.

UPDATE: January 2018 - The Buoy Receiver MH1 is back on position and we will update progress on our FaceBook Page @MarbleheadShark. Check in, and follow.

Follow Greg Skomal and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy team as they track great white sharks along the coast of Cape Cod. Read the article "Tracking Cape Cod Sharks" on Bostonia: http://www.bu.edu/today/2017/greg-skomal-cape-cod-sharks/

Marblehead BUOY LOcation

South of Children's Island, Marblehead, MA

Coordinates

42°29'92"N 070°48'56"W

AWSC Buoy Network Map

Click for here Google Map

“If I told you there were ten out here, you would think one thing, if I told you there were a thousand, you would think something else...”

- Dr. Greg Skomal, Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries

Educational Enrichment - The Sharks We Follow

(Updates are posted on our Facebook Page, check it out!)

"Kick Off Meeting" of Marblehead Shark Club. Discussion on technology used to track sharks locally using acoustic tags, and globally using satellite tagging systems .

Follow That Shark - We watched three large sharks being caught by Dr. Greg Skomal and the Ocearch team on YouTube. The videos were produced from an Atlantic White Shark Conservancy research trip with Dr, Skomal on-board Ocearch as it was anchored off of Nauset and Monamoy Beaches on Cape Cod.

Once we have learned about the tagging process, we will follow each shark using the Ocearch Global Tracker software. Each week we will plot the current position of these three sharks on our Global Tracker Chart.

Tagging the Shark Katharine - Watch the video, click here.

Tagging the Shark Mary Lee - Watch the video, click here.

Tagging the Shark Lydia - Watch the video, click here.

Charting & Tracking - Once we have learned about the tagging process, we will follow each shark using the Ocearch Global Tracker software. Each week we will plot the current position of these three sharks on our Global Tracker Chart.

Community Giveback - Periodically we set up a charitable donation drives to support the Plummer Home in Salem.

Speaker Series Event -

Personal Visits - Marianne Long of Atlantic White Shark Conservancy visits our classroom and gives presentation of the exciting research their group has been conducting. Updates from population study on Cape Cod's eastern shore. The footprint of the study, moved from eastern Cape Cod to Massachusetts Bay, Cape Ann and the Bay of Fundy. Over the winter a relationship with a researcher from Cape Hatteras has been developed. He is tagging White Sharks with PSAT tags. For the first time, AWSC has live feed data.

Skype Video Conference - During a recent Skype session, Marianne visited our club meeting and shared experiences from a recent trip to Gudalope Island, Mexico where she was cage diving with some very large White Sharks in the Pacific Ocean. We all got to see first hand, videos she shot while 18 foot white sharks passed by within inches. Only regret, is we were not in Mexico with Marianne. It was the next best thing! Thank You!

White Shark Awareness Video

This video was developed in collaboration with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and officials from Cape Cod and South Shore Towns, to raise awareness and help people and white sharks co-exist peacefully.

TECHNOLOGY

Sharks are being tracked by a combination of transmitter tags and receivers either placed locally with sauna buoys, or globally with a more sophisticated GPS/satellite system. Both processes are extremely valuable to researchers and scientists.

Dr. Greg Skomal tags a White Shark near Chatham, MA.

Tagging & Tracking Data

There are two shark tracking resources available to us today. Atlantic White Shark Conservancy with their Sharktivity App, and OCEARCH with their Global Shark Tracker App.

July 2016 - Marianne Long installs MH1 buoy in Marblehead, Ma.

Local Tracking

Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has deployed and maintains a network of passive radio receiver buoys on Cape Cod and within the waters of Massachusetts Bay. The Marblehead Buoy is part of this network.

They offer a Tracking App called Sharktivity. Data is collected from many sources including their buoy array, spotter plane, and App user reporting of in person sightings.

To get your copy of Sharktivity, visit their website, by clicking this link.

OCEARCH tags White Shark Katharine off Chatham, MA

Global Tracking

OCEARCH facilitates the collaborative research work of over 50 researchers. Scientific data from blood obtained from white sharks on the lift show that they are minimally stressed and data from the accelerometers show that the animals recover and start swimming strongly within 2-4 hours after release. Data from the Global Shark Tracker provides strong evidence of long-term survival and long-distance migrations.

To get your copy of Global Shark Tracker, visit their website, by clicking this link.

SPEAKER SERIES

Awareness Inspires Conservation

by Marianne Long, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy

May 2, 2019 - Marblehead CHarter ScHool - 7pm to 8Pm

Background:

For the past three years, Marblehead Shark Club has maintained an Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, “AWSC”, shark detection receiver buoy 1/2 mile south of Children's Island, Marblehead, MA. The buoy is funded through a generous grant from the Friends of Marblehead Public Schools.

In 2017-2018, the receiver buoy detected three different mature female great white sharks, ranging in size from 13 ft. - 15 ft in length.

Great White Sharks Gille & Cool Beans, visited Marblehead waters in the fall of 2018.

All three sharks had previously been tagged, off the shores of Cape Cod, MA, by Dr. Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and AWSC, during his five year great white shark population study.

The LECTURE:

Marblehead Charter School’s Shark Club is pleased to host a lecture, “Awareness Inspires Conservation," presented by Marianne Long, Director of Educational Outreach, AWSC, Chatham, MA.

The lecture will provide audiences with an understanding of the ongoing great white shark research projects currently being funded by the AWSC. Ms. Long will discuss how current research is impacting conservation, public safety efforts, and lessons learned. Audience members will have an opportunity to view videos and photographs captured during the research season and develop their knowledge of what a great white shark is and what it takes to conduct great white shark research.

Event Details:

Where: Marblehead Charter School, 17 Lime Street, Marblehead, MA
When: May 2, 2019, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Seating will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Suggest donation of $5 per person

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC) is a nonprofit organization supporting scientific research, educating the community, and improving public safety. AWSC strives to increase knowledge of Atlantic white sharks to change public perception, and conserve the species and ensure biologically diverse marine ecosystems.
At the end of the program, audience members will have an opportunity to ask questions and learn how they can get involved in shark and ocean conservation.

To learn more about Marblehead Shark Club visit us on the web at www.marbleheadshark.com

Marianne Long

Marianne worked as a full time 6th grade science teacher for the Scituate Public Schools in Scituate, MA, and now is the Education Director for the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC). She studied marine science at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina, where she joined her marine biology professor on a shark biology trip to the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas. It was on this trip that Marianne became passionate about shark conservation and helping to change the image of sharks from an animal that is feared to one that is respected. Through her work with AWSC, Marianne has created outreach programs for youth of various ages where they are engaged in shark education and are exposed to ongoing shark research on Cape Cod. She also helped to found The Gills Club, an education initiative to empower girls to pursue a career path in marine biology by connecting them with female researchers currently working in the field.

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