Sharks in the Spotlight at SoFo

The South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center is hosting a talk with renowned shark researcher Greg Metzger, who has spent the last 13 years interacting with sharks in our local Long Island waters.

The talk, originally scheduled for Jan. 23 at 10:30 a.m. at the SoFo museum in Bridgehampton, was rescheduled to Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. due to the blizzard on Jan. 23.

Dr. Metzger is a marine biologist and a marine science educator at Southampton High School.

He will discuss the hands-on work he and his growing group of collaborators are doing to save sharks and help better understand their population, distribution and activities.

During the program, Dr. Metzger will explore the development and recent accomplishments of The Long Island Shark Collaboration, a group he leads along with collaborators David Nichols and Alec Giufurta and science research students at Southampton High School; Jessica Quinlan at South Fork Natural History Museum; Dr. Molly Lutcavage and Dr. Tim Lam of the Large Pelagics Research Center at UMass Boston; and Tobey Curtis of the NOAA Fisheries Service in Gloucester, Mass.

The presentation will shed scientific insights into the activities of the sharks in our region, and clear up the misconception that most sharks are to be feared. Dr. Metzger will highlight exciting news of the past year, concluding with the team’s most significant contribution to date:  the very first tagging of a great white shark pup, a 4.5-foot-long female, on Aug. 25, 2015.

Likely less than one year old, it is the smallest white shark to be electronically tagged off the East Coast of the United States, and was found several miles off of Southampton.

“Engaging the students of Southampton High School in this exciting experience is a professional high point for me,” says Dr. Metzger. “We’ve known for some time that the south shore of Long Island has a high concentration of juvenile white sharks, among other species. The students that directly participated have helped create a milestone in shark research that can never be taken away from them.”

Advanced reservations are required for this and all SoFo events. For more information, reservations, and directions to meeting places, call: 631.537.9735 or visit www.sofo.org.