This March break, 12 students and two faculty members are traveling to the Bahamas to investigate the island’s varied habitats alongside educators and researchers from The Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) while living mindfully of their environmental impact. Please enjoy the blog post below from Rania ’27, Noah ’27, and Justin ’27 where they share the groups experience assisting shark researchers in studying the effects of pollution on juvenile sharks, followed by a night lesson on fish identification in preparation for their upcoming coral reef snorkel adventure.
We started our day with an hour of early morning yoga during sunrise whilst listening to the tranquil sounds of the ocean. After breakfast, we headed over to the boats where we took a trip to Starve Creek, accompanied by four shark researchers. Our goal was to aid those researchers in their study of the influence of human pollution on small sharks such as the lemon sharks through their blood. Once we arrived, each person was assigned a job to do when the shark was caught. Although small, the procedure for the shark had to be done very carefully. We learned that juvenile sharks get stressed easily, so the researchers waited for it to calm down. Next, the shark’s head was measured along with the stomach and total length. Fortunately, we were given the opportunity to feel the shark’s skin (dermal denticles) as the researchers held the shark. Everyone was surprised by how rough or smooth it was depending on the direction we stroked it. Finally, Natasha, the head researcher, took blood samples from the shark before it was released. The blood samples are dehydrated and taken to Brazil in order to study them for high traces of heavy metals and chemicals. Not ten minutes after we released the first shark, another was caught by the lines we set up. The same procedure was done.
Before we left, one of the two boats we took was beached from the tide receding. We tried to push it out of the shallows, but alas, it was stuck. However, we were able to take the second boat back to the harbor. When we returned, we had some time to socialize and hang out on our own for a little while before heading to dinner, which was, as always, fresh and delicious. To conclude our day, we had a night lesson where we learned about different fish identifications for our coral reef snorkel tomorrow. We learned about parrot fish, groupers, snapper, grunts, damsel, and so much more. We played some games to help us remember the differences such as the fins, patterns, and face shapes. We can’t wait to use what we’ve recently learned today for tomorrow’s adventure in Green Castle’s famous Blue Hole!
