Use of tags, telemetry, and surveys to map shark movements, identify hotspots, and reveal nursery areas
Shark Tagging, Tracking & Nurseries
Modern shark conservation and risk management increasingly depend on advanced technologies like satellite tags, acoustic telemetry, drones, and community surveys to track individual sharks, identify critical habitats, and map movement patterns. These integrated methods have vastly improved understanding of shark ecology—especially for apex predators like the great white shark—and have revealed key nursery areas and offshore hotspots essential for effective, adaptive management.
Individual White Shark Tracking and Ping Events
Satellite tagging and telemetry have revolutionized shark monitoring by enabling researchers to follow sharks across vast oceanic distances in near real-time. For example:
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Webster, a white shark tagged off Nova Scotia, was tracked traveling over 400 miles offshore along Florida’s Space Coast. This remarkable migratory journey highlights the species’ extensive range and the importance of transboundary data sharing for comprehensive risk management.
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In 2026, a young white shark named “Penny” pinged for the first time in the Gulf of Mexico, spotlighting how juvenile sharks are expanding or shifting their ranges, possibly due to environmental changes or prey availability.
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The largest great white ever recorded in the Atlantic, weighing nearly 1,700 pounds, was recently detected off the US coast near North Carolina. Such record-setting individuals provide invaluable insights into shark biology, including mating and feeding behaviors.
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Juvenile sharks like “CAYO” in Southern California’s Bight have been tagged with acoustic telemetry, revealing the presence of nursery habitats that are critical for population sustainability. These nursery areas are regularly monitored to enable dynamic spatial management that protects vulnerable young sharks without imposing overly broad beach closures.
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Acoustic detection networks and tag recovery operations, such as those conducted by OCEARCH, are integral to gathering data and validating tracking results. These efforts often rely on community involvement and targeted expeditions, as seen in OCEARCH’s behind-the-scenes PSAT tag recovery operations.
Discovering Key Habitats: Nurseries and Offshore Hotspots
Telemetry and survey data have uncovered several vital shark habitats, reshaping conservation and risk mitigation strategies:
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Southern California’s Shark Nursery: At night, researchers document juvenile white sharks aggregating in the Southern Bight, a nursery site providing shelter and abundant prey. This location is a focus for seasonal and dynamic zoning, limiting human-shark interactions during peak nursery use.
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Offshore Hotspots: Tagging data reveal that white sharks frequently visit specific offshore areas rich in prey, such as seal colonies or migratory whale routes. These hotspots, like those near Florida’s Space Coast or along the Atlantic US coast, are critical for feeding and mating behaviors and require monitoring for effective risk forecasting.
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Deep-Sea Habitats: Recent tagging of elusive species like the sixgill shark at depths around 1,600 feet broadens understanding of shark ecology beyond coastal zones, emphasizing the diversity of shark habitats and the need for multi-depth monitoring.
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Drone and Aerial Surveys: Trials in Queensland and Western Australia have demonstrated that thermal imaging drones can detect sharks beyond traditional netted zones, even during low-light conditions like dawn or dusk. These aerial assets complement static tags and acoustic buoys by providing flexible, wide-area surveillance of shark hotspots and movement corridors.
Integrating Multi-Modal Data for Adaptive Management
The fusion of telemetry, acoustic detection, aerial surveillance, and citizen science creates a robust, multi-layered monitoring network:
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Acoustic Buoy Arrays and AI Analytics: These systems collect near-real-time data on tagged and untagged sharks, integrating environmental variables such as water temperature and prey abundance. AI models use this data to predict shark presence patterns, optimizing selective beach closures and public warnings while minimizing unnecessary disruptions.
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Citizen Science Platforms: Public contributions through apps like OCEARCH’s Global Shark Tracker and regional sighting networks significantly enhance data coverage. Verified reports and viral videos from beachgoers supplement scientific monitoring, enabling rapid response and improving situational awareness.
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Environmental Event Integration: Monitoring systems now incorporate episodic environmental drivers, such as urban runoff or carcass-driven feeding aggregations, which can temporarily create shark feeding hotspots nearshore. For example, Sydney’s wet-weather runoff events in early 2026 triggered urgent shark warnings as nutrient influx attracted prey species, while decomposing whale carcasses off Hawaii’s Kona Coast necessitated heightened caution.
Conclusion
The combination of individual shark tracking stories and habitat discovery through tags, telemetry, and surveys has transformed shark ecology knowledge. This deepened understanding supports evidence-based management that protects both sharks and beachgoers by identifying critical nursery grounds and offshore hotspots, enabling adaptive spatial-temporal measures rather than blunt, large-scale closures.
Continuing to advance multi-modal monitoring technologies and integrating data streams—satellite tags, acoustic networks, drones, and citizen science—will remain essential for mapping shark movements and refining risk mitigation in dynamic marine environments. This science-driven approach fosters coexistence with these apex predators while safeguarding human safety and marine biodiversity.