Expert Collects Samples of Sharks in San Francisco Bay to Deepen Knowledge of the Species | VOA News

Meghan Holst and a small crew and researchers monitor the broadnose sevengill shark in the San Francisco Bay Area. According to Holst, a 31-year-old Ph.D. candidate at University of California-Davis, the location stands out as one of the world’s only known year-round nurseries for the species.

The broadnose sevengill, as its name suggests, has seven pairs of gill slits as opposed to five on most other sharks. Once the sharks are pulled on board the boat, the team collects blood samples to look for toxic contamination in the water, muscle biopsy samples to examine the sharks’ role in the food chain, fin clips for genetic analysis, and length and girth measurements to estimate the age. Each piece of data will help deepen their knowledge of the species and the bay.

“Sharks are a really great sign for a healthy, sustainable ecosystem, and they are what keeps our ecosystem in check,” Holst said. (Reuters)