July 14, 2021 — Two years ago, Jeff Plumlee watched as his fellow crew members reeled a four-foot long blacknose shark onto the research vessel Capricorn. As they prepared to take the shark’s measurements, they saw something unexpected sticking out of her birth canal: a small tail fin.
“It was indicated to everybody on board [that]… okay, that is a baby shark,” said Plumlee. “She is giving birth on board.”
Quickly, the crew unhooked the shark without taking measurements and released her back into the water so she could give birth safely. Plumlee, who is a PhD student at the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences, helped carry the shark to the edge of the boat for release.
“It was really just intimate, being able to witness it and get the animal back in the water, watch her swim away,” Plumlee said.
Plumlee was searching for sharks off North Carolina’s coast as part of the UNC-IMS Longline Shark Survey. The survey is an effort from the Institute of Marine Sciences to record the diversity of sharks visiting the state over time. It began in 1972 under the late Frank Schwartz, a former professor and marine zoologist at the IMS. As scientists set off to record shark species again this summer, the survey is celebrating its 50th year of data collection, making it one of the longest-running shark research programs in the United States.