484 
National Marine 
Fisheries Service 
NO A A 
Abstract —We developed an alterna¬ 
tive capture-and-release method for 
sharks using a simple poker-and- 
hook tool for divers to quickly cap¬ 
ture nurse sharks (Gi/iglymostoma 
cirratum) entering the intake canal 
of a nuclear power plant in Florida. 
The capture technique consists of 
using a short metal rod (poker) with 
a barbless J-hook (size 10/0) to snag 
the base of a shark’s tail (caudal pe¬ 
duncle), then safely hauling the in¬ 
dividual into a boat by the buoy line 
that has been hooked to its tail. We 
captured 20 nurse sharks ranging 
from 11.8 to 80.3 kg, and 9 individu¬ 
als were monitored over time. Six 
sharks were released into the canal 
and 3 sharks were put in an open 
tank for 23-24 days for daily obser¬ 
vations. All hook wounds resulting 
from this technique were assessed 
between 9 and 42 days, and no ill ef¬ 
fects were observed throughout the 
study period. The capture method 
caused a small superficial wound to 
the caudal peduncle that averaged 
11.3 mm 2 (standard deviation 8.7; 
n= 23). Wound closure was observed 
after 9 days and re-epithelialization 
was almost complete (or the wound 
had completely healed) between 22 
and 42 days. Landing nurse sharks 
this way is less traumatic than tra¬ 
ditional methods (e.g., angling, net¬ 
ting). This study provides prelimi¬ 
nary information on, and validates, 
the use of this tool as an efficient 
and less invasive capture method 
than traditional methods and as 
a method that could be applied to 
broader areas of shark research. 
Manuscript submitted 26 November 2016. 
Manuscript accepted 28 July 2017. 
Fish. Bull. 115: 484-495 (2017). 
Online publication date: 15 August 2017. 
doi: 10.7755/FB.115.4.5 
The views and opinions expressed or 
implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
Fishery Bulletin 
established in 1881 
Spencer F. Baird 
First U S. Commissioner 
of Fisheries and founder 
of Fishery Bulletin 
A new underwater shark capture method used 
by divers to catch and release nurse sharks 
(Ginglymostoma cirratum ) 
Serge Aucoin (contact author) 
Steve Weege 
Max Toebe 
Jeff Guertin 
Jonathan Gorham 
Michael Bresette 
Email address for contact author: saucoin@gmail.com 
Inwater Research Group 
4160 NE Hyline Drive 
Jensen Beach, Florida 34957 
Capturing animals is often a neces¬ 
sary part of wildlife management ac¬ 
tivities and ecological research. Stud¬ 
ies involving the capture of animals 
have enabled researchers to under¬ 
stand certain species behavior that 
otherwise would not have been pos¬ 
sible (e.g., intraspecific competition; 
Hoelzer, 1990; Webster and Hixon, 
2000) or to uncover some of the so¬ 
cial factors influencing physiological 
processes (e.g., sex-reversal; Shapiro 
and Boulon, 1982; Goodwin, 2009). 
Capture-recapture methods with 
various types of tags for surveying 
animals have also allowed research¬ 
ers to track the movement of species 
(Kohler et al., 1998; Wiley and Simp- 
fendorfer, 2007), determine species 
range (Kramer and Chapman, 1999), 
estimate population size (Pine et ah, 
2003; Gwinn et al., 2011), and assess 
other demographic parameters (e.g., 
Zeller and Russ, 1998; Jones et al., 
1999) that have contributed to our 
understanding of the natural world 
and facilitated resource management 
(Davis and Dodrill, 1989; Clark and 
Kaimmer, 2006). 
Trapping, chemical immobiliza¬ 
tion, and many other methods have 
been used to capture animals for 
research, relocation, and other man¬ 
agement purposes (Williams et al., 
2002; Silvy, 2012). Ethically, capture 
methods should aim to minimize ani¬ 
mal suffering (Cuthill, 1991; Jenkins 
et al., 2014), as well as reduce stress 
responses, which can bias many 
types of data collected (Sheriff et ah, 
2011; Gallagher et al., 2014). Ideally, 
capture methods should be developed 
and refined by experienced wildlife 
biologists and technicians who have 
studied, planned, and tested methods 
before starting any wildlife research 
or management program (Schemnitz 
et ah, 2012). 
Knowledge of the behavior and 
activity patterns of the targeted 
species is necessary to maximize 
capture efficiency when developing 
capture methods. The nurse shark 
(Ginglymostoma cirratum) was the 
target species in this study. It is a 
bottom-dwelling opportunistic preda¬ 
tor that feeds primarily on small 
fish and some invertebrates (Castro, 
2000). Juveniles are typically found 
on the bottom of shallow coral reefs, 
seagrass flats, and around mangrove 
islands. Older individuals typically 
