This article originally appeared in The Shark Tagger-1998 Annual Summary
The APP has initiated the Cooperative Atlantic States Shark Pupping and Nursery (COASTSPAN) survey to investigate shark nursery grounds along the U. S. east coast. Cooperative state and university researchers from Georgia to Delaware participated in sampling a total of 1,156 sharks in coastal waters from May to November in 1998. Florida Department of Environmental Management (DEM) personnel also contributed data from the Indian River Lagoon which was sampled from April 1991 to March 1997.
Sampling was conducted in Delaware Bay from May through September by APP staff and graduate students from the University of Rhode Island. A total of 539 sharks were caught, including 534 sandbars and 5 sand tigers (no sharks were caught in May). Eighty-four percent of the sandbars caught were neonates (newborn) as defined by umbilical scars and the remaining 16% were juveniles. Neonate sandbar sharks remain in the Delaware Bay nursery for at least three months. Recaptures of tagged sharks show that some age 1+ juveniles return to the Bay the next year and probably up to six years later. One of the sand tigers caught in June could be considered a young of the year based on size (3' FL). The remaining sand tigers consisted of three juveniles and one adult. The presence of young juvenile sand tigers suggest that Delaware Bay may be a secondary nursery ground for that species.
A total of 236 sharks were sampled in North Carolina's coastal waters by personnel from the Department of Marine Fisheries in May and August through November. The species composition of the sampled sharks was 52% Atlantic sharpnose, 30% sandbar, 7% finetooth, 7% spinner, 1% Atlantic angel, 1% blacknose, and less than 1% scalloped hammerhead and smooth hammerhead. Preliminary results show that North Carolina's coastal waters support pupping and nursery grounds for spinner, dusky, and Atlantic sharpnose sharks. COASTSPAN data give supporting evidence that sandbars utilize North Carolina waters as overwintering and secondary nursery grounds. Blacknose, blacktip sharks, smooth hammerheads, and scalloped hammerheads also utilize these areas as secondary nursery grounds.
South Carolina cooperators from the Department of Natural Resources sampled from June to September. A total of 273 sharks were caught: 63% were Atlantic sharpnose, 15% bonnethead, 14% finetooth, 6% sandbar, 2% scalloped hammerhead, and less than 1% blacktip, lemon, and spinner sharks. COASTSPAN findings show that spinner, finetooth, sandbars, and Atlantic sharpnose utilize these waters to some degree as pupping and nursery grounds. Our data also suggest that blacktip, scalloped hammerhead, and bonnethead sharks utilize South Carolina waters as secondary nursery grounds.
Georgia cooperators from the Department of Natural Resources and Savannah State University sampled a total of 108 sharks from May to September. The species composition was 84% Atlantic sharpnose, 14% bonnethead, 1% scalloped hammerhead and 1% finetooth. COASTSPAN data lend supporting evidence that Atlantic sharpnose and bonnetheads utilize Georgia's coastal waters as pupping and nursery grounds. These waters may also support secondary nursery ground habitat for scalloped hammerhead and finetooth sharks.
Florida DEM personnel contributed sampling data for 38 juvenile bull sharks from Indian River Lagoon from April 1991 to March 1997. All were young juveniles. No neonate bull sharks were sampled.
All sampled sharks in this program were marked with small blue tags in the first dorsal fin (see photo). If you catch one of these sharks, report measured fork length, sex of the shark, date and the latitude and longitude of capture. If the shark is not released, please freeze a six inch long piece of the backbone from over the gill area and call the Narragansett Lab at (401) 782-3320.