Atlantic White Shark Conservancy Uses New Device To Tag Free-Swimming Sharks
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy now has a new way to tag sharks in Cape Cod waters. Researchers announced Monday that two free-swimming white sharks were tagged through the use of a TADpole device.
The device allows for a more minimally-invasive tagging process with SPOT (smart position or temperature transmitting) tags. "Typically, SPOT tags are manually attached by drilling a hole through the dorsal fin, which requires the capture and handling of the shark," said the Conservancy.
The TADpole, which stands for tag attachment device pole, was developed by scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with help from Dolphin Quest, Inc. and Dolphin Biology Research Institute.
SPOT tags relay information through satellite arrays and when the shark surfaces, it transmits a radio signal which shows its location within hours.
