After a month and a half of colder than usual FL weather, 5 ft+ waves, and almost constant 15-25 mph winds, our shark tagging team fished a measly 12 days. However, out of those 12 days, we caught a total of 32 adult sharks (breaking down to Lemons-12, Bulls-12, Nurse-4, Tiger-3, and Reef-1). The purpose of the project was to target aggregations of adult lemon sharks off the coast of West Palm Beach, FL north to Jupiter, FL. Doc Gruber was given 16 lemon shark transmitters, another 18 for bull sharks, and 4 satellite tags. Our job was to fish for these two shark species and surgically implant the transmitters.
Unlike other "Jupiter" seasons, ours was unseasonably cold and windy, which resulted in plentiful days spent reading on the dock and cleaning gear. On the days that the weather allowed for us to fish, the sharks were scarce, possibly due to the colder-than-usual water. Although we did not reach our shark/transmitter quota, the project was hugely successful in my mind. I loved having the ability to work with such large, mature sharks, since Bimini is mostly home to neonates and juveniles. The sharks were all so powerful and awe-inspiring, and although the fishing days were scarce, the ocean was always alive with spinner sharks, dolphin pods, man-o-war jellies, enormous loggerhead turtles, one majestic leatherback, jumping spotted eagle rays and one skipping baby manta ray. A brisk Fl winter was every southerner's nightmare and my vacation on the sea, the perfect way to celebrate a new Master's degree.
