Friday and Sunday were the first two days of my internship with the shark lab. I would like to fill you in on what happened. Details specific to equipment and the catching process are difficult to explain and not quite as crucial to the experience so please forgive my lack of detail in those areas. I was picked up at 6am and rode to the station in Islamorada (southwest of Key Largo) an hour and a half away.
There is something to be said about warmth being breathed into the dark canvas overhead set in front of innumerable scattered palm trees. As the sun turned the sky from dark to a gradual orange glow, the silhouette of the trees literally took my breath away. I could not stop staring out the window in silent bewilderment at the beauty of the dawning day which held untold excitement.
From Islamorada, the boat ride to the Everglades took about an hour at top throttle and I bid my time with rest, conversation, and hypnotizing myself by staring at the boat's wake for miles. Nearing the destination, we baited the hooks with large chunks of fish about the size of softballs. The moment before picking up the first fish steak was the last time until the evening my hands were not covered with blood, guts, scales, and fish stench. I happily wiped as much as I could onto my pants almost as if it was a ceremonial moment in my life as an intern: the first stain of honor on my clothes.
The bait is attached to a hook that is attached to a large weight (we wouldn't want the fish at the surface where the birds can scavenge it all) which is then attached to a buoy. When we came back around to the first line the real fun began. At the end of our line was a lemon shark as big as I am. My duties had been explained to me but I'm the type of person that likes to see everything in action before it makes sense. However, I'm also the type of person to jump into anything if I think I know what's going on so I grabbed the sling (imagine a 7ft long, 3-4ft diameter orange pipe with a little give to it that's been cut in half long-way and had ropes attached to the edges). I put the sling in the water and held it in place as instructed. With a lot of hassle on the tiny lower platform, the team was able to pull the shark into the sling while it was still thrashing.
When there are 5 people on a platform confined to about 3ft by 5ft trying to pull a heavy shark onto the deck, it gets rather crowded and hectic. Luckily we managed to keep everyone on the boat and successfully bring the shark up to us. As soon as we pulled her to the deck, the team pounced on her. The first thing to be done was to put a pump into her mouth that flows water over the gills and gives something to bite down on. As long as there is water flowing across her gills, the shark will be able to get a healthy supply of oxygen. Just as we had planned, 3 measurements were made, small fin and tissue samples were taken, 2 tags were attached, and the shark was released. This was the first time I had ever laid my hands on a living shark larger than 3 feet and I will not forget it anytime soon. Over the course of the day I began taking on responsibilities without being asked. If I had it my way, I'd be doing most of it (a testament to how much I love doing the dirty work), but that would make me a pretty lousy team player, wouldn't it. I continued to feel more comfortable around the team, boat, equipment, and especially the sharks and even though it meant waking up at 5:45 it was totally worth it. Between Friday and Sunday, we caught, measured, sampled, tagged, and released 8 lemons, 6 nurses, 2 bulls, one Atlantic sharpnose, one blacktip, and a hammerhead. I love my job.
In other news, my more or less sparse romantic life has taken an exciting turn. Last semester I met this girl named Natalie. Right away I thought she was someone that I could see myself being good friends with. Alas, our paths did not cross very frequently the first semester although we did leave for break after sharing lunch that lasted literally 6 hours. After coming back from break, we hung out much more and when we couldn't work out a time to meet up for lunch I cleverly suggested that we may as well just go for dinner instead. Well, things started to really click form there and before I knew it I had blurted out that I thought it would be a good idea to start dating. A week has gone by and things are going even better than I had expected. She's a senior at UM from southern California, impressively bright, only 2-3 inches shorter than I am, outgoing, adventuresome, and loads of fun to be with. Eventually I'll post a picture but until then my description will have to suffice.
This will do until we get a better one together.
In other other news, my uncle Rick is back home from the hospital. He's not out of the woods because he still has the kidney stone that was there when everything started, but all the other complications have more or less been taken care of and he's recovering in the comfort of his own home. Thanks for the support.
There is something to be said about warmth being breathed into the dark canvas overhead set in front of innumerable scattered palm trees. As the sun turned the sky from dark to a gradual orange glow, the silhouette of the trees literally took my breath away. I could not stop staring out the window in silent bewilderment at the beauty of the dawning day which held untold excitement.
From Islamorada, the boat ride to the Everglades took about an hour at top throttle and I bid my time with rest, conversation, and hypnotizing myself by staring at the boat's wake for miles. Nearing the destination, we baited the hooks with large chunks of fish about the size of softballs. The moment before picking up the first fish steak was the last time until the evening my hands were not covered with blood, guts, scales, and fish stench. I happily wiped as much as I could onto my pants almost as if it was a ceremonial moment in my life as an intern: the first stain of honor on my clothes.
The bait is attached to a hook that is attached to a large weight (we wouldn't want the fish at the surface where the birds can scavenge it all) which is then attached to a buoy. When we came back around to the first line the real fun began. At the end of our line was a lemon shark as big as I am. My duties had been explained to me but I'm the type of person that likes to see everything in action before it makes sense. However, I'm also the type of person to jump into anything if I think I know what's going on so I grabbed the sling (imagine a 7ft long, 3-4ft diameter orange pipe with a little give to it that's been cut in half long-way and had ropes attached to the edges). I put the sling in the water and held it in place as instructed. With a lot of hassle on the tiny lower platform, the team was able to pull the shark into the sling while it was still thrashing.
 |
| Laura measuring a lemon shark |
When there are 5 people on a platform confined to about 3ft by 5ft trying to pull a heavy shark onto the deck, it gets rather crowded and hectic. Luckily we managed to keep everyone on the boat and successfully bring the shark up to us. As soon as we pulled her to the deck, the team pounced on her. The first thing to be done was to put a pump into her mouth that flows water over the gills and gives something to bite down on. As long as there is water flowing across her gills, the shark will be able to get a healthy supply of oxygen. Just as we had planned, 3 measurements were made, small fin and tissue samples were taken, 2 tags were attached, and the shark was released. This was the first time I had ever laid my hands on a living shark larger than 3 feet and I will not forget it anytime soon. Over the course of the day I began taking on responsibilities without being asked. If I had it my way, I'd be doing most of it (a testament to how much I love doing the dirty work), but that would make me a pretty lousy team player, wouldn't it. I continued to feel more comfortable around the team, boat, equipment, and especially the sharks and even though it meant waking up at 5:45 it was totally worth it. Between Friday and Sunday, we caught, measured, sampled, tagged, and released 8 lemons, 6 nurses, 2 bulls, one Atlantic sharpnose, one blacktip, and a hammerhead. I love my job.
In other news, my more or less sparse romantic life has taken an exciting turn. Last semester I met this girl named Natalie. Right away I thought she was someone that I could see myself being good friends with. Alas, our paths did not cross very frequently the first semester although we did leave for break after sharing lunch that lasted literally 6 hours. After coming back from break, we hung out much more and when we couldn't work out a time to meet up for lunch I cleverly suggested that we may as well just go for dinner instead. Well, things started to really click form there and before I knew it I had blurted out that I thought it would be a good idea to start dating. A week has gone by and things are going even better than I had expected. She's a senior at UM from southern California, impressively bright, only 2-3 inches shorter than I am, outgoing, adventuresome, and loads of fun to be with. Eventually I'll post a picture but until then my description will have to suffice.
 |
| My first picture with Natalie |
In other other news, my uncle Rick is back home from the hospital. He's not out of the woods because he still has the kidney stone that was there when everything started, but all the other complications have more or less been taken care of and he's recovering in the comfort of his own home. Thanks for the support.
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