Shark tag ends up on Tongan reef

One of three electronic transponders discarded near Tonga by great white sharks tagged at the Chatham Islands was recovered from the Ha’ateiho Reef. The shark was tracked by GPS to within 20m of its location and the tag was seen lying on the reef. The data will be analysed by New Zealand marine scientists to trace the shark’s diving behaviour and temperate preferences and a record of light levels to roughly estimate the path it travelled. The information may provide clues to why the sharks are travelling to Tonga, when local fisheries archives show no record of the species there.

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