Eel migration study reveals porbeagle shark predation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Posted by ScienceDaily: Oceanography News on 12 March, 2013
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Satellite tracking tags used to elucidate the migratory path of American eels from the St. Lawrence River to the Sargasso Sea prematurely detached from the specimens leading investigators to suspect significant predation during the eels' journey. Data from the tags revealed stomach temperatures and dive patterns consistent with porbeagle sharks. In addition to data collected by the satellite tags, only 4% of acoustically tagged eels were detected migrating into the Atlantic Ocean via the Cabot Strait (a major migratory pathway between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland). The study precedes the recent vote by CITES to more strictly enforce protection of five shark species including porbeagle sharks as well as recent international studies on the worldwide decline of sharks....