Sharks have thrived in the oceans for over 350 million years, but around
20 million years ago a new species emerged in the fossil records in a
form unlike any ever seen before - the Hammerhead shark. With one of the
most bizarre looking heads found in nature, the Hammerhead shark has
proven to be a remarkably successful predator.
Around 30,000 fish species are alive today and only eight or nine have a
hammerhead shaped head. So why did the Hammerhead evolve - was it a
need for greater manoeuvrability, a need for a more advanced sensory
system or was it a genetic mistake? Equipped with more electro sensors
than any other shark, extreme manoeuvrability, serrated teeth and an
ability to swim fast have armed the Hammerhead with an amazing arsenal
of survival tools. But unfortunately indiscriminant fishing currently
threatens the Hammerhead's very existence with a severe population
decline in the past decade.
In an ever-changing world, where skills are constantly put to test, how
will these magnificent fish continue to survive and meet the natural and
unnatural challenges of today? One theory proposes that certain female
Hammerhead species travel in large schools as a way to increase their
number of successful offspring. Scientific evidence suggests that these
Hammerheads seek out distant destinations, but no one knows exactly why
they go, where they go and how they navigate. What prompts them to
travel these great lengths? Do they possess an internal compass? Do they
possess a map? Dr. Pete Klimley is seeking to answer these questions
and discover how Hammerheads live and survive across the turbulent seas.
In a bold new scientific experiment, Dr. Klimley aims to track
Hammerheads in the open ocean.
In the past, sharks have been tracked by being tagged with acoustic
devices that signal a shark's presence near landmarks where listening
devices have been placed. To track a Hammerhead in the open ocean and
see its entire path, Pete's team is turning to an ambitious and risky
tracking approach that involves a completely different type of tag.
Whenever the shark comes to the surface, this new tag will communicate
its location to a satellite - wherever it goes in the Pacific Ocean.
Will Pete's experiment work and provide concrete data? Protecting these
creatures means broadening international safeguards and limiting fishing
over a much larger undersea realm, one that Pete hopes his real data
can link together by a network of shark highways. This so called
Hammerhead Highway may be the key to understanding and ensuring this
curious creature's survival.
