Neale the shark gets a souped-up fin

May 21, 2001

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AUSTRALIA: May 14, 2001

SYDNEY - Australian scientists say they hope to learn more about the feeding

and territorial habits of the great white shark after tagging the fin of one

to track using satellite technology.

A team from government research group the Commonwealth Scientific and

Industrial Research Organisation said on Wednesday they had been tracking a

7.9 feet juvenile shark since they caught and tagged it in March.

Australians' fascination with the menacing presence of sharks around the

country's vast coastline has been fuelled by a string of recent attacks.

Two surfers survived attacks off the coast off New South Wales state in the

past five weeks. Three people died in separate shark attacks off popular

surfing and swimming beaches in South Australia and Western Australia in

September and November 2000.

CSIRO scientists John Stevens and Barry Bruce said the shark - nicknamed

Neale after a commercial fisherman who helped them catch it - had a 7.9 inch

tag fitted to its dorsal fin.

The tag transmits signals to a satellite each time Neale surfaces and the

CSIRO hopes it will enable them to study the shark's daily and seasonal

movement patterns for up to a year.

" For example, we hope to establish how closely the shark's movement patterns

are aligned to those of the snapper schools where he has been feeding and

how far he ranges when these schools disperse, " Stevens said in a statement.

Since he was tagged, Neale has travelled more than 528 miles, mainly along a

47 miles stretch of coast off Victoria before moving across Bass Strait

towards the island state of Tasmania.

" Only by tagging and tracking sharks in this way can we answer many of the

questions that environmental and coastal managers - and the public - want to

know about this species, " said Melbourne Aquarium curator Craig Thorburn.

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

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