CHATHAM, Mass. (WPRI) — New, experimental technology could help marine biologists track white sharks in real-time.
Dr. Greg Skomal, and his team from the Atlantic Shark Conservancy have been tagging sharks for years. To date, at least 210 sharks are known to the conservancy.
Skomal, a state marine biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, is considered to be a leading expert in his field.
The conservancy’s ‘Sharktivity‘ app tells users about white shark sightings, detection and movements. The app sightings are fed by researchers, safety officials, and users that upload photos for confirmation.
Skomal says new technology aims to alert officials about sharks in real-time, both the ones he’s tagged, and ones he hasn’t discovered yet.
“We’ve got six real-time receivers, live receivers that we’re putting out this year,” Skomal said. “We’re still configuring it, it is still experimental.”
Skomal says his team put out the first receiver two days ago. He says the new technology won’t be ready just yet, and another year of testing is needed.
