In a campaign to protect sharks, a controversial research group is trying to disrupt traditional science
A white shark is human fear made flesh. It shears the water like a missile targeting its prey, with conveyor-belt rows of serrated teeth and skin so rough it was once used as sandpaper. From a primordial perspective, our fear of these creatures is understandable. But we’re a peculiar species, fascinated by what terrifies us. From Jaws to Shark Week to any news about the long-extinct megalodon, sharks occupy an intersection between terror and entrancement. So when one starts tweeting, of course we follow.
In March 2017, an American research group called Ocearch caught a 600-kilogram, 3.7-metre-long white shark off Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, bolted a flashlight-sized satellite transmitter to his dorsal fin, and named him Hilton. Thanks to Ocearch’s Global Shark Tracker app, researchers and even amateur shark enthusiasts could watch Hilton’s migration as he stormed up and down the eastern seaboard.
Ocearch gives many of its transmitter-tagged sharks Twitter accounts run by a team of staff, volunteers, and scientists. As a part of its program to connect more people with ocean life, it’s working: with nearly 50,000 followers, Hilton (along with @MaryLeeShark and @RockStarLydia), is a minor celebrity. To counter the popular depictions of bloodthirsty predators, Ocearch presents @HiltonTheShark as just a jaunty guy on the hunt for food and love. On January 20, for instance, along with a GiF of a white shark leaping out of the water, his account tweeted: “Doin’ my happy dance here off the coast of Georgia . . . dance with me everybody!” A few months after Ocearch caught him in 2017, Hilton was swimming (and tweeting) along Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast, and that summer, he became the province’s unofficial mascot.
This story is from the June 2019 edition of The Walrus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2019 edition of The Walrus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.
The Upside-Down Book
In her new novel, Rachel Cusk makes the case for becoming a stranger to yourself
Pick a Colour
BACK HERE, I can hear a group of women trickle in. Filling the floor with giggles and voices.
Quebec's Crushing Immigration Policy
Familial separation can have devastating consequences on mental health and productivity
The Briefcase
What I learned about being a writer from trying to finish a dead man's book
In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It
Thousands have died trying to cross into the US from Mexico. Each year, activists follow their harrowing trek
Blood Language
Menstruation ties us to the land in ways we've all but forgotten
Dream Machines
The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
Invisible Lives
Without immigration status, Canada's undocumented youth stay in the shadows
My Guilty Pleasure
"The late nights are mine alone, and I'll spend them however I damn well please"