Students were treated to the very rare experience of dissecting a female juvenile tiger shark on Feb. 8. The shark was killed the weekend prior and was found on the beach by lifeguards who contacted One Ocean Diving, a research organization designed to educate the public on sharks and marine life.
The shark had been tagged for research by the University of Hawaii two years ago and had not been seen until she washed up on the shore on Feb. 7.
This was a targeted killing based on the large hook and chain that was in the shark, according to Ocean Ramsey, the co-owner and lead conservationist for One Ocean Diving. They took to social media to discover who killed the shark, sending out messages and asking for information.
“We got some calls back saying that actually there’s a restaurant that sent a bunch of stuff out to some fishermen asking for fins,” said Ramsey.
One Ocean Diving members decided to make the most out of the tragedy and donate it to science. Contacting the University of Hawaii, they decided to give it to BYU–Hawaii for students because of its marine biology program. Contacting BYUH’s marine biology team, they set up a time and brought the shark.
A juvenile at 9 years old, the shark was 9 feet long and estimated to be around 500-600 pounds. Since she had been tagged before, she had been given a name, “Roxanne.” Ramsey taught students about the shark. Providing handouts, she explained the shark’s body parts before the students began dissecting it. Because of the shark’s thick skin, it took a while to cut into it.
“We are looking into the stomach and intestines to see what the shark had eaten,” said Samantha Swanson, a sophomore majoring in biomedicine from Michigan. The students learned that tiger sharks are foragers and are the garbage cans of the ocean. They also learned shark skin is thick so they can eat stingrays and resist the stings. They learned about its internal organs, pointing out the large liver, the stomach, and more.
Ramsey shared more about sharks and their importance to the ecosystem. “They pick up the dead, the dying and the weak, so we need them. It’s the essential part of a healthy fishery... We do have a lot of sharks comparatively because of our isolation.”
Ramsey also shared the impracticality of eating sharks. “You can’t eat it. It’s high in toxins and mercury,” she said. Most sharks are targeted for their fins, which are a delicacy in China but also contributes to a large decline in the shark population.
“Sharks aren’t as much of a danger to humans as we think they are,” said Swanson. “This shark especially could have been poached for Chinese New Year. We don’t know.”