COASTSPAN
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COASTSPAN Sampling locations
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The Cooperative Atlantic States Shark Pupping and Nursery (COASTSPAN) Survey is an ongoing investigation of known and putative shark nursery grounds along the East Coast of the United States.The objectives are:
- Determine the location of shark nursery grounds along the U.S. East Coast and their species composition
- Determine the relative abundance, distribution and migration of sharks utilizing these nursery grounds through tag and recapture data
COASTSPAN cooperators sampled a total of 8792 sharks from 1998 to 2002 using gillnet and longline methods.
A total of 3574 of these sharks were tagged before release. Juvenile sharks sampled were: Atlantic sharpnose (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae), blacknose (Carcharhinus acronotus), blacktip (C. limbatus), bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo), dusky (C. obscurus), finetooth (C. isodon), lemon (Negaprion brevirostris), nurse (Ginglymostoma cirratum), sandbar (C. plumbeus), sand tiger (Carcharias taurus) scalloped hammerhead (S. lewini), smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis), spinner (C. brevipinna) and tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier) sharks.
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Longline sampling operation
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COASTSPAN cooperators include:
- University of Rhode Island
- North Carolina DMF
- South Carolina DNR
- Coastal Carolina University
- University of Georgia
- University of Florida
This page was last updated: December 15, 2004