White Shark
Very few animals generate the mixture of fascination and terror as the great white shark. Unfortunately, the terror-associated, anti-shark sentiment has led to the unnecessary slaughter of many animals. White sharks have been listed for international protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) Appendix II and were listed as...
Read MoreOffield Center Billfish Studies
The Offield Center for Billfish Studies has been conducting groundbreaking research on marlin species since 2000 and has grown into the largest billfish program in the world with over 450 satellite popup tags deployed on marlin around the globe. Paxson Offield was instrumental in developing MCSI’s largest research program, the The Offield Center for Billfish Studies (OCBS). OCBS has been...
Read MorePop-up Satellite Tags
Pop-up satellite tags are small devices that represent a marriage of archival tags and a satellite transmitter. The tag is inserted with a barb beneath the skin near the base of the dorsal fin (ideally) while the tag itself is outside the animal. These tags log temperature, depth and light intensity. As with the archival tags, light can be used to calculate latitude and longitude. After a...
Read MoreConventional Tags
Conventional tags are essentially fish identification tags. These take many forms and may consist of a long piece of plastic tubing, a disc, or small coded wire. Generally they contain a unique number, identifying the individual fish as well as contact information from the sponsoring organization. They can be secured with a plastic or stainless steel dart or may be inserted under the skin...
Read MoreAcoustic Telemetry Tagging
Acoustic telemetry is used to obtain a relatively continuous record of fish movements and is ideal for asking fine scale questions. It can be done actively, in real-time, or passively, using a listening station. For both the first step is to secure an acoustic transmitter or “pinger” to a fish. This pinger emits an acoustic pulse at a frequency from 32-300 kHz. This sound pulse is then picked up...
Read MoreMCSI’s Tagging Technologies
Scientists have been trying for hundreds of years to study fish movements. Studying an animal that lives under water is not necessarily an easy task. Before modern technology, researchers would sometimes clip fins or secure a chain around the tail to mark individuals. The value of this type of mark and recapture study is that if we know where an individual fish is at two different times we can...
Read MoreSponsor a Shark
Sponsor your favorite Guadalupe Island white shark and support MCSI’s white shark research and conservation efforts!
Guadalupe Island White Shark Photo-ID book
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