488 
Fishery Bulletin 11 5(4) 
Table 1 
Description of nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) captured with the poker-and-hook method in a nu¬ 
clear power plant intake canal in Florida during 2014, and resulting hook wound characteristics. Minimum 
bleeding indicates either a few drops of blood (Fig. 4A) or residual blood (Fig. 4E) observed once individuals 
were hauled into the boat. Circularity is defined as 4n( area/circumference 2 ), where a value of 1 indicates 
a perfect circle and a value approaching 0 indicates an increasingly elongated shape (i.e., skin tear). Hook 
depth is a relative measure that was recorded as the straight distance between the tip of the hook to the 
first visible part of the hook shank at the surface of the shark’s skin. A superscript R signifies recapture and 
identifies individuals captured twice by the poker-and-hook method. Principal component analysis (PCA) 
with weight and length together was used to indicate a score for shark body size. f/o=fell out (hook fell out 
by itself when the shark was landed). n/a=not available (hook depth not measured). A mean and standard 
deviation (SD) are given for wound area, circumference, and circularity. 
Weight 
(kg) 
Total 
length 
(cm) 
PCA 
score 
Sex 
Hook 
depth 
(mm) 
Hematuria 
(bleeding) 
Area Circumference Circularity 
(mm 2 ) (mm) (0-1) 
11.8 R 
135 
-1.445 
M 
f/o 
minimal 
2.2 
11.2 
0.21 
37 
none 
10.0 
21.3 
0.50 
12.7 
137 
-1.397 
F 
24 
minimal 
21.9 
38.2 
0.39 
14.2 
143 
-1.282 
M 
29 
none 
8.5 
15.1 
0.47 
14.2 
145 
-1.255 
F 
f/o 
none 
3.6 
26.6 
0.06 
14.9 
151 
-1.158 
F 
23 
none 
10.5 
30.1 
0.15 
19.8 
163 
-0.886 
M 
19 
minimal 
10.1 
14.1 
0.64 
21.2 
167 
-0.800 
M 
16 
minimal 
6.9 
26.6 
0.12 
32.0 
186 
-0.302 
F 
33 
minimal 
18.9 
28.4 
0.30 
41.2 R 
204 
0.148 
M 
35 
none 
10.1 
12.3 
0.85 
f/o 
minimal 
4.8 
9.0 
0.75 
43.7 
205 
0.217 
M 
23 
minimal 
13.0 
49.8 
0.07 
43.8 
209 
0.274 
M 
21 
none 
7.8 
15.0 
0.43 
48.9 
210 
0.401 
F 
f/o 
none 
13.9 
19.4 
0.43 
52.9 
211 
0.504 
M 
18 
minimal 
5.2 
17.3 
0.22 
52.9 
218 
0.599 
F 
24 
minimal 
2.3 
7.0 
0.58 
56.5 
238 
0.951 
M 
f/o 
minimal 
5.2 
9.8 
0.68 
60.0 
214 
0.703 
F 
n/a 
minimal 
37.8 
30.6 
0.51 
64.8 
233 
1.068 
F 
n/a 
none 
10.0 
15.1 
0.54 
66.0 R 
231 
1.067 
F 
25 
minimal 
16.7 
27.0 
0.29 
37 
minimal 
6.8 
11.5 
0.65 
79.6 
222 
1.248 
F 
15 
none 
5.6 
17.6 
0.44 
80.3 
245 
1.576 
F 
38 
minimal 
29.4 
24.9 
0.60 
Mean 
11.3 
20.8 
0.43 
SD 
(8.7) 
(10.4) 
(0.22) 
circularity (defined as 4rc(area/circumference 2 )) as an 
index of skin tearing in relation to shark size, we used 
a binomial logistic regression, which included calculat¬ 
ing the Nagelkerke pseudo-coefficient of determination 
(Nagelkerke pseudo-r 2 ) and the Homer-Lemeshow test 
of the goodness of fit to help explain the overall model. 
In this case, we used categories more severe (circular¬ 
ity <0.5) and less severe (circularity >0.5), where a val¬ 
ue approaching 0 indicates an increasingly elongated 
shape and therefore a more pronounced skin tear. The 
Omnibus test of model coefficients (i.e., likelihood ratio 
chi-square test) was used for the overall model, where¬ 
as the Wald chi-square test was used for the odds ratio 
(see McCormick and Salcedo, 2017). 
Before-and-after photos of hook wounds were used 
to re-assess 3 nurse sharks recaptured after 9-10 days, 
4 nurse sharks after 22-24 days, and 2 nurse sharks 
after 37-42 days. We included all hook wounds (n= 23) 
to calculate descriptive statistics, which included 2 in¬ 
dividuals captured twice because they escaped from 
our boat the first time, and 1 individual recaptured 
over time. Anglers targeting large groupers recaptured 
the remaining 5 nurse sharks in the canal. We com¬ 
pared before-and-after weights of 4 nurse sharks after 
22-24 days (1 nurse shark in the canal and 3 sharks 
in the tank). To minimize handling time, the 5 other 
sharks released in the canal were weighed only before 
being released in the ocean. 
Results 
Table 1 shows shark description and wound informa¬ 
tion, including mean values for wound area, circularity, 
