Journals 2004/2005

Charlene Mauro
Navarre High School, Navarre Florida

"Tracking Juvenile Bull Sharks in the Indian River Lagoon" Indian River Lagoon, Florida June 28 - July 9, 2004

Journal Index: June 28 - 29 - 30 July 1 - 2 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9

July 7, 2004

Today we left the lab at 6am and went to Crane Creek in Melbourne, Fl. The trip took about four hours. We loaded the boat with lots of water and food with hopes that we would be tracking a shark for the next 24 hours. For about 45 minutes we looked for V-shaped ripples and dorsal fins. I used the YSI to determine the salinity of the area discovering a salt wedge. The surface salinity was 12 and the bottom 28. We tied the boat off under the pier and placed the acoustic receiver in the water to listen for tagged sharks. We saw some sharks, but again, no luck.

I started to wonder if we would ever catch a shark during my research experience. As always, Tobey remained optimistic.