Military divers tag sharks

Tuesday, 27 July 2010 00:00

The Joint Services Shark Tagging Team (JSSTT) - whose members are from the army, navy and RAF – placed acoustic tags on 13 scalloped hammerhead sharks, one Galapagos shark and a black tip shark so their movements can be recorded by underwater radio receivers. The divers also tagged 12 green turtles.

This was the third time that the team has travelled to Cocos in a project nicknamed Jurassic Shark. Last year, JSSTT won BSAC’s Duke of Edinburgh’s Prize for Jurassic Shark 2.

‘The expedition involved two important conservation projects, both of which exploit the skills of a Joint Services team to best effect,’ said expedition leader Major Andy Reid. ‘Both sharks and turtles are in dramatic decline around the world and this is our chance to make a difference by establishing those parts of their habitat that most need protection.’

The team is planning its next expedition to tag bull sharks in the rivers of the Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica.