Effective conservation of wildlife populations is best managed from a strong ecological foundation. As human awareness of environmental issues grows and the need to understand ecosystems intensifies, there is an increasing need for further research into population demographics and life history of organisms.

Last year saw the initialization of the Save Our Seas Sevengill Research Project, looking into the population demography and behavioural ecology of the broadnose sevengill shark, Notorynchus cepedianus. The study aims to investigate aspects of the biology of the sevengill shark using in-water observations made by SCUBA divers. The project will form the basis of my MSc thesis, and is being supervised by Prof. Charles Griffiths (UCT) and Alison Kock (SOSSC). The project is being made possible through support and funding of SOSSC and Shark Explorers, and supported by diving companies Animal Ocean and Pisces Divers.

A major aspect of this project is the use of photographic identification (photo-ID) as an alternative to tagging, for the identification of individuals. Photo-ID allows for individual animals to be identified using natural spot patterns, without the need for invasive artificial tagging. This also allows us to record, on an individual level, almost every shark that we encounter on a dive; something that is not generally possible using conventional tagging practices. The viability of photo-ID as a reliable means of identification was validated last year, and is now being used as the basic means of individual identification for the project.

This year we are furthering this study, looking at the demographics and behavior of a population of sevengill sharks around an aggregation site in False Bay, South Africa. So many questions about these animals remain unanswered, land we’ll be investigating population size and sex structure, as well as determining how these sharks are using the habitat, where and when are they feeding and aspects of reproduction, in particular where and when are they breeding and giving birth.

Recent discussions within the SOSSC team have yielded some interesting ideas and some exciting developments to the project, which we will be sure to share with you as they progress. For now the team is continuing to dive with these ancient creatures on a regular basis, observing, studying and recording every detail we can. Any person can contribute by sending their photo-ID to: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Visit our Facebook page for all the details.

Until next time, keep caring for our oceans,
Robert Raw
MSc student, University of Cape Town
On behalf of the Save Our Seas Shark Centre Team