Catching sharks for science in the Brisbane River

Local fishermen team up with scientists to catch and tag bull sharks in the Brisbane River, contributing to research about the apex predators.

Transcript

00:00Torbjörn Hale and his brother head to the jetty at Bulimba most afternoons to cast a

00:06line.

00:07He's not chasing your everyday fish though, Torbjörn is one of many who catches sharks

00:13from the Brisbane River.

00:14I can almost predict it, like I'll be an hour before high tide, I'll be like, oh,

00:18roughly in an hour I'll hook something and as soon as that hour hits, the reel will start

00:23skimming off.

00:24The 17-year-old keen fisherman started tagging sharks for the New South Wales Department

00:28of Fisheries last year, helping track which fish migrate south, and says it gives him

00:34a purpose.

00:35I'll do it for fun, but also it kind of helps the sharks out as a species and it's kind

00:38of like, it's not, you just, you're not taking it, you're sort of giving back to the sharks

00:42at least.

00:43Dr Darrell Whitehead has studied bull sharks in 27 different countries.

00:48He doesn't hesitate to get into the water and has even trained them to swim between

00:52his legs.

00:53I like to tickle their reels.

00:55Most people don't understand that if you were to rub right below the actual pectoral

00:59fin, you'll see the tail start wagging back and forth just like your dog.

01:04Right now, it's breeding season, making it the perfect time to catch one.

01:07By signing up to tag sharks, fishers can help scientists learn more about the apex predators.

01:13We'd like to try to know where the sharks are going, where they've been, how long they're

01:17staying in the actual riverways, and yes, that's something that we get a lot of help

01:22from a lot of number of actual sports fishermen who are doing this.