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12-06-06 Corpus Christi Bay Mako
Shortly before noon I got a call from the
TAMUCC campus police in regards of a 5 ft plus shark stranded on a
sand bar near the beach in front of the school. They said I was
referred to by Ken Brown from the science department. They asked if
I would come out to investigate.
The shark was reported to campus police by
a pair of students. They were waiting for the bus when they observed
the fins sticking out of the water. The beach is located directly
across the street from the bus stop on the TAMUCC campus.
As I got there, I could see the fins
sticking out of the water. I pulled off the road and walked down.
Ken was already on scene. I snaps some pictures before going into
the water.
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I then went out
into the water. I was already pretty sure as to what it
was and that it was already dead due to the fact that
this particular species needs constant movement to be
able to breathe. It lacks the muscles to pump water over
the gills on its own. I took some more pictures and
video before moving it to shore. For the video, click
HERE! In the video, I state that the shark is an 8'
mako, but that was before we got an exact measurement.
The video is roughly 6MB. |
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I noticed the
tail had a fishing leader hooked to it. However, it was
a single drop cheapo leader with a 1 oz weight on it.
Clearly nothing that will hinder her swimming and
breathing. I wrapped a tail rope on her and dragged her
close to shore. By now, several others from the school
came over. So I had enough help to drag her out of the
water. Ken aided me in getting an exact measurement. The
shortfin mako fell a half inch shy from being 9 ft.
We got in touch with Dr Mckee to see if he
wanted to collect samples. If not, I was going to collect some and
see if TPWD would be interested in trying to find out what killed
her. As we waited for Dr Mckee, I took more pictures. |
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The shark appeared healthy and had good
body weight. The shark was still fresh and the gills were still
bright red. In addition, I talked with one of the school workers who
had been on the beach taking pictures of the water that morning. She
said that at 9AM, the shark was not there. For the most part, there
was no sign externally to give evidence of cause of death. The shark
did not appear to be caught and dumped there. The jaws were still
present. Some wear on the snout and lower jaw was present, but after
further discussion we thought it was likely that it was rubbing on
the bottom while drifting. Why
was it in Corpus Christi Bay? Well, there are a few theories. One,
related to mating or pupping. One shark washed in half alive on
Padre Island National Seashore last winter had signs of a sunken
belly, an enlarge anal opening, and fluids coming out. But if they
are giving birth in our area, then why are there no pups caught?
Another theory, and one that seems more logical, relates to over
fishing. Are they leaving their natural habitat in search for a
better food source? Is over fishing playing that role in a
decreasing food source? It needs looking in to. |
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