18 jul 2022 om 18:03 | Update: 34 minuten geleden
The Wadden Sea may be a suitable place for young tope sharks to grow up. Researchers found several newborn sharks in the Wadden Sea last week. It is the first time that specific research has been done into the presence of the tope shark in the Wadden Sea Region. The results are promising.
By: our news editorsResearchers from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) and Wageningen Marine Research caught young tope sharks near Terschelling and Ameland last week. These are creatures between 28 and 37 centimeters long, so-called ‘shark pups’. The animals can eventually grow up to 2 meters in length.
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The young sharks had just been born, some were only a few days old. “They are vulnerable animals, so it is important that they can grow up in protected areas,” Erwin Winter of Wageningen Marine Research tells NU.nl. He was involved in last week’s expedition.
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Winter says the outcome of the study was even better than hoped. “This was really a ‘hallelujah experience’,” he says. “We were prepared for less.”
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In addition, the good news is that the shark pups captured were in particularly healthy condition. “All the baby sharks we’ve had in our hands were alive and undamaged and ready to go back into the water,” says Winter. “They have a very good chance of survival.”
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Shark pups do not just happen by chance in the Wadden Sea
The tope shark is doing quite badly worldwide. According to Winter, the fact that the Wadden Sea may be a suitable living environment for young shark pups is good news. Although the research is still in its infancy, last week’s catches are proof that the puppies occur “not just by chance” in the Wadden Sea.
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Last week’s catches were part of an expedition to further investigate the role of the Wadden Sea in the life course of the tope shark. Previously, very little was known about the presence of the tope shark in the Wadden Sea Region. The only information about this came from shrimpers, who occasionally caught a tope shark as bycatch.
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Adult females follow
More research is needed to get a better picture of the role of the Wadden Sea for tope sharks. For example, the researchers hope they can catch adult females. These are then tracked with the help of a transmitter. The young sharks are too small to be tracked with a transmitter.
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The research into the tope shark is part of the Swimway Wadden Sea project. This project studies various fish species in the Wadden Sea and provides advice on marine management. The amount of fish in the Wadden Sea is currently decreasing sharply.
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