The newest addition to the International SeaKeepers Society‘s DISCOVERY Yacht Fleet, luxury charter yacht Penny Mae is currently participating in a tiger shark tagging expedition, taking place in the fabulous Caribbean yacht charter destination – Bahamas. The expedition is scheduled to last until May 17, 2014.
Loading the shark tagging platform aboard charter yacht Penny Mae in preparation for this week's expedition at Tiger Beach, in the lovely Caribbean yacht charter location - Bahamas. Image credit to The International SeaKeepers Society
A team of researchers from the University of Miami is tagging tiger sharks, taking blood samples, and conducting ultrasounds using a custom-made floating platform designed by Florida Biodiversity Institute and Dr. Neil Hammerschlag.
The floating platform has been attached to the stern of motor yacht Penny Mae, serving as the base for the expedition site and research. The newest addition to SeaKeepers DISCOVERY Yacht Fleet, luxury yacht Penny Mae is a 138foot long Tri-Deck motor yacht.
Shark tagging provides researchers with information about habitat use by sending signals from the tags to receivers. The researchers will be retrieving receivers that were discharged in October 2013 for data analysis and will be deploying more receivers to continue monitoring. The data can help researchers further explore the habitat use of the female tiger sharks, the relationship among female tiger shark reproductive state, condition and residency patterns, and how these patterns may be impacted by the constant tourism at Tiger Beach.
SeaKeepers’ DISCOVERY Yachts Program joins world-renowned scientists with world-class yacht owners to further scientific research. Yacht owners dedicate their yacht and its abilities to a scientist-led research expedition usually related to the owner’s personal interest. Previous expeditions include coral reef research in the Dry Tortugas with Miss Phebe, drifter deployments off the Channel Islands with Valkyrie and genome-scale sequencing in Bimini on Copasetic.
