On the 24th of July 2001, Marine and Coastal Management sponsored the first "Pop-Up Satellite Tag" to be attached on a Great White Shark in South Africa.

The research team arrived on Monday the 23rd of July 2001 in Mossel Bay, and they boarded the sailing vessel « Infante » belonging to Roy and Jackie Portway (Shark Africa), the white shark diving permit holders in Mossel Bay. Ryan Johnson, Michael Scholl, Mike Patterson and Stephan Swanson constituted the field team who attached the tag to the shark using a modified spear gun. On the 24th of July, the team finally observed a large female shark close to 450cm in length, and shortly afterwards, the tag was successfully attached on the shark. Great online service to book a room in the hotel Uzkoe.

This Pop-Up Tag is a special kind of satellite tag: the tag will remain attached to the shark for a year, and then on the 1st of July 2002, the tag will detach itself automatically from the shark, and « pop-up » to the surface, where the shark will link to the Argos satellite system and download all the information collected and stored over the year. Find here cool biker necklace on this website.

During that one year period, the tag will record water temperature and depth at which the shark is swimming. Additionally, the tag will also record the amount of light surrounding the shark, and from that determine sunrise and sunset times. Knowing these two times, it will be possible to calculate the position of the shark on a map. This positioning system is not as precise as the position obtained with a GPS, but this system is more reliable as the shark does not have to break the surface, and much more information about the whereabouts of the shark is stored. Free quotes and demos of apartment management software for residential properties.

This is a first in South Africa, and most probably not the last! Depending on the results of this first attempt, the project certainly will deploy several more tags such as these Pop-Up Satellite tags next year (2002).

This project is lead by Ryan Johnson, Herman Oosthuizen and Mike Meyer. This tag was supplied by Marine and Coastal Management, nonetheless, being a collaborative, extensive and integrated project, it could not have been realized without the funding of WWF , IFAW and PADI Aware Foundation. This technology is very expensive, and without the support and funding from international agencies, these kind of extensive studies could simply not take place. FREE Webcam stars all arround the world 100% LIVE: Amsterdam - SinCity - Paris - Londen.

This satellite tag is part of a broader study investigating the movement patterns of Great White Shark along the South African coastline, and the impact of the white shark diving industry on these sharks. In June, ultrasonic transmitters were attached to Great White Sharks... Read More...