New Zealand’s Great Whites Tagged for First Time

For the first time, great white sharks in New Zealand waters have been fitted with satellite tags, which will allow researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the New Zealand Department of Conservation and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research to follow them.  Working in the Chatham Islands a team fitted four sharks with pop-up archival tags, devices that collect detailed information about the depth, temperature, and light levels of water through which the animals travel. After a few months, the tags detach on pre-determined dates and float to the surface, where they broadcast their data via satellite.  Great white sharks recently received a significant boost in protection on an international level from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. This limits trade in body parts and products across international boundaries. Great whites are also fully protected in several countries, including the U.S., South Africa, Namibia, Australia, and Malta. New Zealand has no legislation to protect the species.

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