Researchers tag great white sharks off Cape Cod

Mon., Sept. 17, 2012

In this Sept. 13, 2012, photo, researchers screw satellite and acoustic tags onto the dorsal fin of a great white shark on the research vessel Ocearch in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Chatham, Mass. Once released, the tags will track the location and speed of the nearly 15-foot, 2,292-pound Genie, named for famed shark researcher Eugenie Clark. The Ocearch team baits the fish and leads them onto a lift, tagging and taking blood, tissue and semen samples up close from the world�s most feared predator. The real-time satellite tag tracks the shark each time its dorsal fin breaks the surface, plotting its location on a map. (Stephan Savoia / Associated Press)

Lindsey Anderson Associated Press

CHATHAM, Mass. (AP) — A crew of researchers and fishermen are tagging great white sharks off Cape Cod in an unorthodox way.

Rather than harpoon the sharks from a distance, the Ocearch (OH’-serch) team baits the fish and leads them onto a lift, tagging and taking blood, tissue and semen samples up close from the world’s most feared predator.

The real-time satellite tag tracks the shark each time its dorsal fin breaks the surface, plotting its location on a map.

Researchers hope the expedition sheds light on the sharks’ migration patterns to protect breeding and birthing sites, improve public safety and raise awareness about the threatened species.

The crew caught their first shark Sept. 13 and named her Genie for renowned researcher Eugenie Clark. Genie has already traveled about 50 miles from Chatham to Nantucket.