Inside the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi sits what local experts and researchers say can be one of the world\u2019s most misunderstood creatures \u2014 and a creature that is more beneficial to the Coastal Bend ecosystem than the public may realize.<\/p>\n
This past week, that was the aim \u2014 to celebrate the contributions of sharks to the local community while simultaneously educating the public. Shark Week ran July 26-Aug. 1, and those at the Texas State Aquarium were hard at work preparing for the event.<\/p>\n
Part of the week included a behind-the-scenes viewing of a morning feeding of the roughly 20 sharks the aquarium holds inside its multiple habitat exhibits as workers prepared for the weeklong festivities. The aquarium houses bamboo sharks, epaulette sharks, nurse sharks, sandbar sharks and sand tiger sharks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really important to understand the sharks \u2014 they\u2019ve been here on the planet longer than trees have been on the planet and dinosaurs have been on the planet, and they\u2019re still here,\u201d said Kesley Banks with the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. \u201cSo actually understanding them and how that process has worked is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Banks said the sharks are apex predators \u2014 meaning they provide a sort of balance control to the watery ecosystems they inhabit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout (that balance) you don\u2019t have pretty coral reefs, you don\u2019t have healthy populations, and that\u2019s a big driver for people to come to the Coastal Bend,\u201d Banks said. \u201cYou want to see the fish and you want to go fishing, then you want sharks in your ocean. Shark Week provides the opportunity to push that research out to not just the Coastal Bend, but to showcase the Coastal Bend across the world. So I think that\u2019s really important to be able to understand and see that research.\u201d<\/p>\n
Set to be included in the festivities at the aquarium was a \u201cLet\u2019s Talk Sharks\u201d presentation led by Banks, along with a look at tracking tagged sharks in real time using OCEARCH\u2019s Global Shark Tracker and more.<\/p>\n
Aquarium President and CEO Jesse Gilbert said he and the aquarium staff feel fortunate to have a partner like the Harte Research Institute, which has become a collaborator for more than one initiative over the years.<\/p>\n
Shark Week is one of the best opportunities for the two entities to come together for the common goal of interactive education, according to Gilbert, who said what happens with sharks locally has far-reaching effects beyond Coastal Bend borders.<\/p>\n
\u201cA healthy shark population is essential to making sure you have a healthy fishery. So even though you might not be into sharks, if you\u2019re into recreational fishing here on the coast they play an essential role in making sure the recreational fishery is healthy,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 what happens with sharks here in the Coastal Bend is a benefit to the entire Gulf.\u201d<\/p>\n
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