How do you save a shark you know nothing about? | Simon Berrow | TEDxDublin
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0:12 - 0:14Thank you very much for inviting me here,
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0:14 - 0:16and thank you to Carlin, wherever she is,
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0:16 - 0:19for tracking my progress and deciding
this was a story worthy of TED. -
0:19 - 0:22I think you've seen basking sharks,
hands up. -
0:22 - 0:24A few of you. Okay.
-
0:24 - 0:26Basking sharks are awesome creatures.
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0:26 - 0:27They are just magnificent.
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0:27 - 0:30They grow 10 meters long; some say bigger.
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0:31 - 0:33They might weigh up to two tons.
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0:33 - 0:34Some say up to five tons.
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0:34 - 0:37They're the second-largest
fish in the world. -
0:37 - 0:40They're also harmless
plankton-feeding animals. -
0:40 - 0:46And they are thought to be able to filter
a cubic kilometer of water every hour -
0:46 - 0:51and can feed on 30 kilos
of zoo plankton a day to survive. -
0:51 - 0:52They're fantastic creatures.
-
0:52 - 0:54We're very lucky in Ireland,
-
0:54 - 0:57we have plenty of basking sharks
and plenty of opportunities to study them. -
0:57 - 1:00They were very important
to coastal communities, -
1:00 - 1:01going back hundreds of years,
-
1:01 - 1:05especially around
the Claddaghduff, Connemara region -
1:05 - 1:10where subsistence farmers used to sail
out on their hookers and open boats, -
1:10 - 1:13sometimes way offshore
to a place called the Sunfish Bank, -
1:13 - 1:15about 30 miles west of Achill Island,
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1:15 - 1:16to kill the basking sharks.
-
1:16 - 1:18This is a woodcut from about the 1800s.
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1:19 - 1:22They were very important,
for the oil out of their liver. -
1:22 - 1:24A third of the basking
shark's size is their liver, -
1:24 - 1:26and it's full of oil, gallons of oil.
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1:26 - 1:28That oil was used especially for lighting,
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1:28 - 1:31but also for dressing wounds
and other things. -
1:31 - 1:32In fact, the streetlights in 1742,
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1:32 - 1:34of Galway, Dublin and Waterford,
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1:34 - 1:35were lit with sunfish oil.
-
1:35 - 1:38"Sunfish" is one of the words
for basking sharks. -
1:38 - 1:40They've been around a long time,
-
1:40 - 1:43they're very important
to coastal communities. -
1:43 - 1:46Probably the best-documented
basking shark fishery in the world -
1:46 - 1:47is that from Achill Island.
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1:48 - 1:50This is Keem Bay up in Achill Island.
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1:50 - 1:52Sharks used to come into the bay,
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1:52 - 1:55and the fishermen
would tie a net off the headland, -
1:55 - 1:57string it out, an old Manila net,
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1:57 - 2:00and as the shark came round,
it would hit the net, -
2:00 - 2:02the net would collapse on it.
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2:04 - 2:06It would often drown and suffocate.
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2:06 - 2:09Or at times, they would row out
in their small curraghs -
2:09 - 2:13and kill it with a lance
through the back of the neck. -
2:13 - 2:16And then they'd tow the sharks
back to Purteen Harbour, -
2:16 - 2:17boil them up, use the oil.
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2:18 - 2:21They also used the flesh
as well, for fertilizer -
2:21 - 2:24and also would fin the sharks.
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2:24 - 2:27This is probably the biggest threat
to sharks worldwide -- -
2:27 - 2:29the finning of sharks.
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2:30 - 2:32We're often frightened
of sharks, thanks to "Jaws." -
2:32 - 2:35Maybe five or six people
get killed by sharks every year. -
2:36 - 2:39There was someone recently, wasn't there?
Just a couple weeks ago. -
2:39 - 2:41We kill about 100 million sharks a year.
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2:41 - 2:43So I don't know what the balance is,
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2:43 - 2:47but I think sharks have more right
to be fearful of us than we have of them. -
2:49 - 2:50It was a well-documented fishery.
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2:50 - 2:52As you can see here,
it peaked in the '50s, -
2:53 - 2:55where they were killing
1,500 sharks a year. -
2:56 - 2:59And it declined very fast --
a classic boom-and-bust fishery, -
3:00 - 3:03which suggests that a stock
has been depleted -
3:03 - 3:05or there's low reproductive rates.
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3:06 - 3:08They killed about 12,000 sharks
within this period, -
3:08 - 3:11literally just by stringing a Manila rope
-
3:11 - 3:14off the tip of Keem Bay
up in Achill Island. -
3:14 - 3:17Sharks were still killed
up into the mid-80s, -
3:17 - 3:20especially out of places
like Dunmore East in County Waterford. -
3:20 - 3:23About two and a half, 3,000
sharks were killed up till '85, -
3:23 - 3:24mainly by Norwegian vessels.
-
3:25 - 3:26You can't really see,
-
3:26 - 3:29but these are Norwegian
basking shark hunting vessels. -
3:29 - 3:33The black line in the crow's nest
signifies this is a shark vessel, -
3:33 - 3:35rather than a whaling vessel.
-
3:35 - 3:37The importance of basking sharks
to the coast communities -
3:38 - 3:39is recognized through the language.
-
3:39 - 3:41I don't pretend
to [know many Irish words], -
3:42 - 3:45but in Kerry they were often
known as "ainmhide Na seolta," -
3:45 - 3:47"the monster with the sails."
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3:47 - 3:51Another title would be "liop an dá lapa,"
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3:51 - 3:53"the unwieldy beast with two fins."
-
3:53 - 3:57"Liabhán mór," suggesting a big animal.
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3:57 - 4:00Or my favorite, "liabhán chor gréine,"
"the great fish of the sun." -
4:00 - 4:02That's a lovely, evocative name.
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4:02 - 4:06On Tory Island -- a strange place
anyway -- they were known as "muldoons." -
4:06 - 4:07(Laughter)
-
4:07 - 4:08No one seems to know why.
-
4:08 - 4:11Hope there's no one
from Tory here. Lovely place. -
4:11 - 4:15But more commonly all around the island,
they were known as the sunfish. -
4:15 - 4:17And this represents their habit
of basking on the surface -
4:18 - 4:19when the sun is out.
-
4:19 - 4:21There's great concern
that basking sharks are depleted -
4:21 - 4:23all throughout the world.
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4:23 - 4:25Some say it's not population decline,
-
4:25 - 4:28it might be a change
in the distribution of plankton. -
4:28 - 4:29It's been suggested
-
4:29 - 4:32that these sharks would make
fantastic indicators of climate change, -
4:32 - 4:34as they're basically
continuous plankton recorders, -
4:34 - 4:36swimming around with their mouth open.
-
4:36 - 4:39They're now listed
as vulnerable under the IUCN. -
4:40 - 4:44There's movements in Europe
to try and stop catching them. -
4:44 - 4:46There's now a ban on catching
and even landing them, -
4:46 - 4:48even landing ones caught accidentally.
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4:49 - 4:50They're not protected in Ireland;
-
4:50 - 4:53in fact, they have no legislative
status in Ireland whatsoever, -
4:53 - 4:55despite our importance for the species
-
4:55 - 4:59and also the historical context
within which basking sharks reside. -
5:00 - 5:02We know very little about them.
-
5:03 - 5:04And most of what we do know
-
5:04 - 5:07is based on their habit
of coming to the surface -- -
5:07 - 5:11we try and guess what they're doing
from their behavior on the surface. -
5:11 - 5:14I only found out last year,
at a conference on the Isle of Man, -
5:14 - 5:16just how unusual it is to live somewhere
-
5:16 - 5:20where basking sharks regularly,
frequently and predictably -
5:20 - 5:23come to the surface to "bask."
-
5:23 - 5:25It's a fantastic opportunity
for a scientist -
5:25 - 5:27to see and experience basking sharks.
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5:27 - 5:28They are awesome creatures.
-
5:28 - 5:32It gives us a fantastic opportunity
to study them, to get access to them. -
5:32 - 5:35What we've been doing for a couple
years -- last year was a big year -- -
5:35 - 5:38is we started tagging sharks,
-
5:38 - 5:41so we could try to get some idea
of sight fidelity and movement -
5:41 - 5:42and things like that.
-
5:42 - 5:47So we concentrated mainly
in North Donegal and West Kerry -
5:47 - 5:50as the two areas
where I was mainly active. -
5:50 - 5:52And we tagged them
-
5:52 - 5:53with a big, long pole.
-
5:53 - 5:55This is a beachcaster rod
with a tag on the end. -
5:55 - 5:58You go up in your boat and tag the shark.
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5:59 - 6:00And we were very effective.
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6:00 - 6:03We tagged 105 sharks last summer.
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6:03 - 6:07We got 50 in three days
off Inishowen Peninsula. -
6:07 - 6:08Half the challenge to get access
-
6:08 - 6:11is to be in the right place
at the right time. -
6:11 - 6:14But it's a very simple, easy technique;
I'll show you what it looks like. -
6:17 - 6:19We use a pole camera on the boat
to actually film the shark. -
6:20 - 6:22One, it's to try and work out
the gender of the shark. -
6:22 - 6:25This is a picture
that you can't really see -
6:25 - 6:27because we cut off the green tag
on the shark from Kerry. -
6:28 - 6:31We also deployed some satellite tags,
so we did use high-tech stuff as well. -
6:31 - 6:33These are archival tags.
-
6:33 - 6:35What they do is store the data.
-
6:35 - 6:38A satellite tag only works
when the air is clear of the water -
6:39 - 6:40and can send a signal to the satellite.
-
6:40 - 6:43And sharks and fish
are underwater most of the time, -
6:43 - 6:46so this tag actually works out
the locations of shark, -
6:46 - 6:49depending on the timing
and the setting of the sun, -
6:49 - 6:51plus water temperature and depth.
-
6:51 - 6:53And you have to kind of
reconstruct the path. -
6:53 - 6:55What happens is,
-
6:55 - 6:58you set the tag to detach
from the shark after a fixed period -- -
6:58 - 6:59in this case, eight months --
-
6:59 - 7:01and literally to the day,
the tag popped off, -
7:01 - 7:03drifted up, said hello to the satellite
-
7:03 - 7:06and sent, not all the data,
but enough data for us to use. -
7:06 - 7:09This is the only way to really work out
their behavior and movements -
7:09 - 7:11when they're underwater.
-
7:11 - 7:14And here's a couple
of maps that we've done. -
7:14 - 7:19In that one, you can see
that we tagged both off Kerry. -
7:19 - 7:22Basically, it spent all its time,
the last eight months, in Irish waters. -
7:22 - 7:24On Christmas, it was out
on the shelf edge. -
7:25 - 7:26Here's one we haven't ground-truthed yet
-
7:26 - 7:29with sea-surface temperature
and water depth, -
7:29 - 7:31but again, the second shark
spent most of its time -
7:31 - 7:33in and around the Irish Sea.
-
7:33 - 7:37Colleagues from the Isle of Man
last year actually tagged one shark -
7:37 - 7:40that went from the Isle of Man
to Nova Scotia in about 90 days. -
7:40 - 7:43Nine and a half thousand kilometers --
we never thought that happened. -
7:43 - 7:47Another colleague in the States
tagged about 20 sharks off Massachusetts. -
7:47 - 7:49His tags didn't really work.
-
7:49 - 7:50All he knows is where he tagged them,
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7:50 - 7:52and where they popped off.
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7:52 - 7:54His tags popped off in the Caribbean,
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7:54 - 7:56and even in Brazil.
-
7:56 - 7:58We thought basking sharks
were temperate animals -
7:58 - 8:00and lived in our latitudes,
-
8:00 - 8:03but in actual fact, they're obviously
crossing the equator as well. -
8:03 - 8:05So very simple things like that,
-
8:05 - 8:07we're trying to learn
about basking sharks. -
8:07 - 8:11One thing that I think
is a very surprising and strange thing -
8:11 - 8:14is just how low the genetic
diversity of sharks is. -
8:14 - 8:18I'm not a geneticist, so I won't pretend
to understand the genetics. -
8:18 - 8:20And that's why it's great
to have collaboration. -
8:20 - 8:21Whereas I'm a field person,
-
8:21 - 8:23I get panic attacks
-
8:23 - 8:26if I have to spend too many hours
in a lab with a white coat on. -
8:26 - 8:27Take me away.
-
8:27 - 8:30So we can work with geneticists
who understand that. -
8:31 - 8:33So when they looked at
the genetics of basking sharks, -
8:33 - 8:38they found that the diversity
was incredibly low. -
8:39 - 8:40If you look at the first line, really,
-
8:40 - 8:44you can see that all these different
shark species are all quite similar. -
8:44 - 8:46I think this means they're all sharks
-
8:46 - 8:48and they've come from a common ancestry.
-
8:48 - 8:50But if you look at nucleotide diversity,
-
8:50 - 8:54which is more genetics
that are passed on through the parents, -
8:54 - 8:57you see that basking sharks,
if you look at the first study, -
8:59 - 9:03was order of magnitude less diverse
even than other shark species. -
9:04 - 9:06You can see this work
was only done in 2006. -
9:06 - 9:10Before 2006, we had no idea of the genetic
variability of basking sharks. -
9:10 - 9:15We had no idea: Did they distinguish
into different populations? -
9:15 - 9:16Were there subpopulations?
-
9:16 - 9:18And that's very important
if you want to know -
9:18 - 9:21what the population size is,
and the status of the animals. -
9:21 - 9:25So, Les Noble in Aberdeen kind of found
this a bit unbelievable, really. -
9:25 - 9:29So he did another study
using microsatellites, -
9:29 - 9:32which is much more expensive,
much more time-consuming, -
9:32 - 9:35and to his surprise,
came up with almost identical results. -
9:35 - 9:38So it does seem to be
that basking sharks, for some reason, -
9:38 - 9:40have incredibly low diversity.
-
9:40 - 9:43And it's thought maybe
it was a genetic bottleneck, -
9:43 - 9:45thought to have been 12,000 years ago,
-
9:45 - 9:47and this has caused a very low diversity.
-
9:47 - 9:49And yet, if you look at the whale shark,
-
9:49 - 9:52which is the other
plankton-eating large shark, -
9:52 - 9:54its diversity is much greater.
-
9:54 - 9:56So it doesn't really make sense at all.
-
9:56 - 9:59They found that there was
no genetic differentiation -
9:59 - 10:01between any of the world's oceans
of basking sharks: -
10:01 - 10:03even though they're found
throughout the world, -
10:03 - 10:05you couldn't tell
the difference, genetically, -
10:05 - 10:09from one from the Pacific, Atlantic,
New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa. -
10:09 - 10:11They all basically seem the same.
-
10:11 - 10:13Which, again, is kind of surprising;
you wouldn't expect that. -
10:13 - 10:16I don't understand or pretend
to understand this; -
10:16 - 10:18I suspect most geneticists don't either,
-
10:18 - 10:19but they produce the numbers.
-
10:19 - 10:22So you can actually estimate
the population size -
10:22 - 10:24based on the diversity of the genetics.
-
10:24 - 10:28And Rus Hoelzel came up with
an effective population size: -
10:29 - 10:318,200 animals.
-
10:31 - 10:34That's it -- 8,000 animals in the world.
-
10:34 - 10:36You're thinking,
"That's ridiculous. No way." -
10:37 - 10:40So Les did a finer study,
-
10:40 - 10:43and he found out it came out about 9,000.
-
10:43 - 10:46Using different microsatellites
gave the different results, -
10:46 - 10:50but the mean of all these
studies is about 5,000, -
10:50 - 10:52which I personally don't believe.
-
10:52 - 10:54But then, I am a skeptic.
-
10:54 - 10:56But even if you toss a few numbers around,
-
10:56 - 11:00you're probably talking an effective
population of about 20,000 animals. -
11:00 - 11:04Do you remember how many they killed
off Achill in the 70s and the 50s? -
11:04 - 11:06So what it tells us, actually,
-
11:06 - 11:09is that there's actually a risk
of extinction of this species -
11:09 - 11:11because its population is so small.
-
11:11 - 11:13In fact, of those 20,000,
-
11:13 - 11:158,000 were thought to be females.
-
11:15 - 11:17There's only 8,000 basking shark
females in the world? -
11:17 - 11:19I don't know. I don't believe it.
-
11:20 - 11:23The problem with this
is they were constrained with samples. -
11:23 - 11:25They didn't get enough samples
-
11:25 - 11:29to really explore the genetics
in enough detail. -
11:29 - 11:34So, where do you get samples from
for your genetic analysis? -
11:34 - 11:36Well, one obvious source is -
-
11:36 - 11:38dead sharks, washed up.
-
11:38 - 11:42We might get two or three dead sharks
washed up in Ireland a year, -
11:42 - 11:43if we're kind of lucky.
-
11:43 - 11:46Another source would be
fisheries' bycatch. -
11:46 - 11:49We were getting quite a few caught
in surface drift nets. -
11:49 - 11:52That's banned now, and that'll be
good news for the sharks. -
11:52 - 11:53And some are caught in nets, in trawls.
-
11:54 - 11:57This is a shark that was actually
landed in Howth just before Christmas -- -
11:57 - 12:00illegally, because you're not allowed
to do that under EU law -- -
12:00 - 12:05and was actually sold
for eight euros a kilo as shark steak. -
12:05 - 12:07They even put a recipe up on the wall,
-
12:07 - 12:09until they were told it was illegal.
-
12:09 - 12:10They actually did get a fine for that.
-
12:11 - 12:13Any of you tried it, no?
I don't think it's that nice. -
12:14 - 12:17So if you look at
all those studies I showed you, -
12:17 - 12:19the total number of samples worldwide
-
12:19 - 12:21is 86, at present.
-
12:22 - 12:24So it's very important work,
-
12:24 - 12:26and they can ask
some really good questions, -
12:26 - 12:30and tell us about population size
and subpopulations and structure, -
12:30 - 12:33but they're constrained
by lack of samples. -
12:34 - 12:35When we were out tagging our sharks --
-
12:36 - 12:39this is how we tagged them on the front
of a RIB, get in there fast -- -
12:39 - 12:42occasionally, the sharks do react.
-
12:42 - 12:45On one occasion, when we were
up in Malin Head in Donegal, -
12:45 - 12:48the shark smacked the side
of the boat with his tail, -
12:48 - 12:52more, I think, in startle to the fact
that a boat came near it, -
12:52 - 12:53rather than the tag going in.
-
12:54 - 12:58And then when myself and Emmett
got back to Malin Head, to the pier, -
12:58 - 13:00I noticed some black slime
on the front of the boat. -
13:01 - 13:04I used to spend a lot of time
on commercial fishing boats, -
13:04 - 13:05and I remember fishermen saying
-
13:05 - 13:08they can tell when a basking shark
has been caught in a net, -
13:08 - 13:10because it leaves a black slime behind.
-
13:10 - 13:12So that must have come from the shark.
-
13:12 - 13:15Now, we had an interest
in getting tissue samples for genetics -
13:15 - 13:17because we knew they were very valuable.
-
13:17 - 13:19We would use conventional methods;
-
13:19 - 13:21I have a crossbow --
you see it in my hand there, -
13:21 - 13:26which we use to sample whales
and dolphins for genetic studies as well. -
13:26 - 13:28So I tried that, I tried many techniques.
-
13:28 - 13:30All it was doing was breaking my arrows,
-
13:30 - 13:32because the shark's skin
is just so strong. -
13:32 - 13:35There was no way we were going
to get a sample from that. -
13:36 - 13:38That wasn't going to work.
-
13:38 - 13:40So when I saw the black slime
on the bow of the boat, -
13:40 - 13:43I thought, "If you take
what you're given in this world ..." -
13:43 - 13:44So I scraped it off.
-
13:44 - 13:49I had a little tube with alcohol in it
to send to the geneticists. -
13:49 - 13:52So I scraped the slime off
and sent it to Aberdeen, -
13:52 - 13:53and said, "You might try that."
-
13:53 - 13:55And they sat on it for months.
-
13:55 - 13:58It was only because we had
a conference on the Isle of Man. -
13:58 - 13:59But I kept emailing Les, saying,
-
14:00 - 14:02"Have you had a chance
to look at my slime?" -
14:02 - 14:03And he was like, "Yeah, yeah. Later."
-
14:04 - 14:06He thought he'd better do it
because I never met him before; -
14:06 - 14:09he might lose face if he hadn't done
the thing I sent him. -
14:09 - 14:12And he was amazed that they actually
got DNA from the slime. -
14:12 - 14:14They amplified it and they tested it,
-
14:14 - 14:17and they found, yes,
this was actually basking shark DNA, -
14:17 - 14:19which was got from the slime.
-
14:20 - 14:22So he was very excited.
-
14:22 - 14:25It became known as "Simon's shark slime."
-
14:25 - 14:28And I thought, "Hey, you know,
I can build on this." -
14:28 - 14:32So we thought, OK, we're going to try
to get out and get some slime. -
14:32 - 14:35So having spent three-and-a-half
thousand on satellite tags ... -
14:38 - 14:42I then thought I'd invest 7.95 --
the price is still on it -- -
14:42 - 14:44in my local hardware store in Kilrush
-
14:44 - 14:46for a mop handle,
-
14:46 - 14:49and even less money on some oven cleaners.
-
14:49 - 14:52And I wrapped the oven cleaner
around the edge of the mop handle -
14:52 - 14:54and ...
-
14:54 - 14:55(Laughter)
-
14:55 - 14:59I was desperate to have an opportunity
to get some sharks. -
14:59 - 15:04And this was into August now,
and normally sharks peak in June, July, -
15:04 - 15:07and you rarely see them,
or rarely can be in the right place -
15:07 - 15:08to find sharks into August.
-
15:08 - 15:11We were desperate,
so we rushed out to the Blaskets -
15:11 - 15:13as soon as we heard
there were sharks there, -
15:13 - 15:14and managed to find some sharks.
-
15:14 - 15:19So by just rubbing
the mop handle down the shark -
15:19 - 15:20as it swam under the boat --
-
15:20 - 15:23you see a shark
running under the boat here -- -
15:23 - 15:25we managed to collect slime.
-
15:25 - 15:26And here it is.
-
15:26 - 15:30Look at that lovely black shark slime.
-
15:30 - 15:34And in about half an hour,
we got five samples. -
15:34 - 15:36Five individual sharks were sampled
-
15:36 - 15:39using Simon's Shark Slime Sampling System.
-
15:39 - 15:41(Laughter)
-
15:41 - 15:46(Applause)
-
15:46 - 15:50I've been working on whales and dolphins
in Ireland for 20 years now, -
15:50 - 15:51and they're a bit more dramatic.
-
15:51 - 15:53You probably saw
the humpback whale footage -
15:53 - 15:55we got a month or two ago
off County Wexford. -
15:55 - 15:58And you always think
you might have some legacy -
15:58 - 15:59you can leave the world behind,
-
15:59 - 16:02and I was thinking of humpback
whales breaching and dolphins. -
16:02 - 16:04But hey -- sometimes
these things are sent to you -
16:04 - 16:07and you just have to take them
when they come. -
16:07 - 16:09So this is possibly
going to be my legacy -- -
16:09 - 16:10Simon's Shark Slime.
-
16:10 - 16:12We got more money this year
-
16:12 - 16:15to carry on collecting
more and more samples. -
16:17 - 16:20One thing that is very useful
is that we use a pole camera -- -
16:20 - 16:22this is my colleague, Joanne,
with a pole camera -- -
16:22 - 16:24where you can look underneath the shark.
-
16:24 - 16:27What you're trying to look at is,
the males have claspers, -
16:28 - 16:30which kind of dangle out
behind the back of the shark. -
16:30 - 16:33So you can quite easily tell
the gender of the shark. -
16:33 - 16:37If we can tell the gender of the shark
before we sample it, -
16:37 - 16:40we can tell the geneticist
this was taken from a male or a female. -
16:41 - 16:43Because in the moment,
they have no way, genetically, -
16:43 - 16:46of telling the difference
between a male and a female, -
16:46 - 16:47which I find staggering,
-
16:47 - 16:49because they don't know
what primers to look for. -
16:49 - 16:52Being able to tell the gender of a shark
-
16:52 - 16:56is very important
for things like policing the trade -
16:56 - 17:00in basking shark and other species
through the sightings, -
17:00 - 17:03because it is illegal
to trade in these sharks. -
17:03 - 17:05And they are caught and are on the market.
-
17:05 - 17:07So as a field biologist,
-
17:07 - 17:09you just want to get encounters
with these animals, -
17:09 - 17:11and learn as much as you can.
-
17:11 - 17:14They're often quite brief,
they're often very seasonally constrained. -
17:14 - 17:17You just want to learn as much
as you can as soon as you can. -
17:17 - 17:19But isn't it fantastic
-
17:19 - 17:22that you can then offer
these samples and opportunities -
17:22 - 17:25to other disciplines,
such as the geneticists, -
17:25 - 17:28who can gain so much more from that.
-
17:28 - 17:31So as I said, these things
are sent to you in strange ways. -
17:31 - 17:33Grab them while you can.
-
17:33 - 17:35I'll take that as my scientific legacy.
-
17:35 - 17:38Hopefully, I might get something
a bit more dramatic and romantic -
17:38 - 17:39before I die.
-
17:39 - 17:42But for the time being,
thank you for that. -
17:42 - 17:44And keep an eye out for sharks.
-
17:44 - 17:46So thank you and thank you for listening.
-
17:46 - 17:48(Applause)
- Title:
- How do you save a shark you know nothing about? | Simon Berrow | TEDxDublin
- Description:
-
They're the second-largest fish in the world, they're almost extinct, and we know almost nothing about them. In this talk, Simon Berrow describes the fascinating basking shark ("great fish of the sun" in Irish), and the exceptional -- and wonderfully low-tech -- ways he's learning enough to save them.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 17:57
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for TEDxDublin - Simon Berrow - 03/12/10 | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for TEDxDublin - Simon Berrow - 03/12/10 | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for TEDxDublin - Simon Berrow - 03/12/10 |