Research Fund 2021 & 23 :: Shamil Debaere
June 25, 2024
The beginning of a beautiful friendship
July 18, 2024
It was with enormous pleasure that we accepted the challenge from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests and, last Saturday, July 13, a Flying Sharks team drove 3 hours south to the Santo André Lagoon with the objective of capturing a Tope shark (Galeorhinus galeus) that was trapped there.
With no way out to the ocean and the reopening of the commercial fishing season looming on July 15, a very sad outcome was feared for the shark, so the team dropped everything they were doing and headed to the spot.
It took three attempts, but by late afternoon we managed to capture this beautiful female measuring approximately 150 cm and, after 6 or 7 minutes carefully removing her from the net (with the help of scissors), we safely released her into the sea, some 100 meters behind a dune, and watched her swim away strongly into the powerful surf.
Throughout the process, the shark was placed in tonic immobility (*) and its breathing movements were carefully monitored. The entire operation was done with the word SAFETY on everyone’s top of mind. Not only the animal’s safety, but also the safety of people, including many beachgoers who watched the process and lent us precious help, which we are very thankful for.
So here’s a big fat hug to the “Dream Team” that pulled this unexpected feat with only a few minutes of preparation: Flying Sharks’ João Correia & Pedro Marques, our regular friends and honorary team members Simão Maia & Filipe Pereira, and our new friend Carlos Pombinho, who stopped at nothing to put all the right tools in our hands.
Double thanks to Miguel Henriques (and his family), as well as the rest of the ICNF team, and also Gonçalo Lobato for the magnificent photo(s).
Here’s also a huge shout-out to Clem & Maureen, our besties from 121 Animal Handling Products, and to our fisherman friend Joaquim Viralhada for their excellent equipment!
(*) “Tonic immobility” is a state of dormancy that some sharks enter when they are inverted, that is, placed belly up. For more detailed technical info, go to Google Scholar and search for the keywords “Watsky Gruber tonic immobility”.
PS – Below please find some links to news pieces (in Portuguese only, sorry) that have come out in Portuguese media. We were quite the toast when this happened. Check out a nice gallery of cute photos after the media links and also a wonderful video montage.
https://www.tsf.pt/4519631219/tubarao-retido-na-lagoa-de-santo-andre-foi-devolvido-ao-mar
https://osetubalense.com/ultimas/tubarao-preso-na-lagoa-de-santo-andre-foi-devolvido-ao-atlantico
