Before the weekend, the Institute of Marine Research (HI) was able to announce that they are launching a “hotline for sharks”. This is a phone number that people can call, a “shark phone”, where they can tip off where they have seen sharks breeding or running along the Norwegian coast. In the spring, the brugda’s shark fin appears in coastal areas, while it feeds on plankton. Since 2019, HI has been actively working with the public to get observations of the brewery. In that way, they can survey, and potentially move out to obtain more information themselves. Researcher Keno Ferter at HI is out and about when news calls, and is ecstatic about how many tips they have received over the weekend. The brugden is one of the largest shark species in existence. Photo: Havforskningsinstituttet – It’s a farm over there! Do you see it? Do you see it? It is 500 meters away, so we are driving towards it now. – The weekend has been absolutely fantastic. The launch of the shark phone went beyond all expectations, because it rang in one go. We have received lots of messages about bugs, and we never thought we would notice so many in such a short time! Imagine you are going for a swim. How would you react if you met a brugde? 😱Oh my God! I swim the opposite way! 🥰Now! Finally one used! 😒Blood. I’m looking for whale sharks – the world’s BIGGEST shark. Show result Harmless giant The researchers want to use as much information as possible to learn more about the movement patterns of what is the world’s second largest shark, after the whale shark. Brugden can be as much as 12 meters long, but is not considered dangerous to humans. It is often seen in the water surface close to land in the summer months. The body is as long as a small bus. Nevertheless, scientists know very little about how the world’s second largest shark moves in Norwegian waters. The project in Vestfjorden will provide several answers. Photo: Axel Schlindwein The shark telephone for the Institute of Marine Research will help ensure that marine researchers are quickly informed when someone has seen a shark or a shark in Norwegian waters. Then the “shark team” can move out. – This summer we will use a satellite brand. We succeeded in tagging three pieces last year. In just a few days, we have marked four broods so far this year. And on the weekend alone, we probably saw 10-15 during the weekend from our boat. – What do you think about the commitment, and not least the amount of sharks? – I have no words, it is absolutely incredible. We were in the center of Bodø and asked random people if they had heard of the shark phone, and they said they had heard it on the radio and seen it in the local newspaper. So people were very engaged. We are very grateful for the help we have received. Soon to run out of tags Over the past four years, committed observers have reported more than 300 sightings of bream along the Norwegian coast. Most sharks have been seen along the coast from Møre and Romsdal to Nordland, especially in the area around Lofoten. Ferter says that the plan was actually to be in the area for several weeks, but that they may have to give up before the time. – We have a few brands left, we will at least be here for the rest of the week. We had originally planned for three weeks, but we didn’t think we would end up in a situation where we were running out of badges so quickly. “HAI TEAM”: Researcher Keno Ferter, tagging expert and field leader for the tagging Otte Bjelland, responsible skipper and the one who sets the tags Antonia Klöcker, research fellow on the shark project Jan Hinriksson, technical expert and boat driver during the tagging and guest researcher Petter Lundberg from SLU. Photo: Axel Schlindwein / Institute of Marine Research – Why are you actually doing this? – The main aim of the project is to study migration, how long they stay in Norwegian waters, what they do, and whether they leave Norwegian waters, says the researcher. The project is called “Sharks on the move”, and involves 20 experts from seven scientific institutions in Norway and abroad. Photo: Institute of Marine Research
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The shark phone led to a brew boom in Bodø – news Nordland
