The Ocearch ship sits in Mayport ready for its departure. | Steven Ponson, Jacksonville Today
Published on June 18, 2024 at 3:23 pm
A team of researchers from Ocearch will leave Jacksonville this week on an expedition that will study white sharks in western Europe and the Mediterranean Sea over the next few months.
Ocearch, a nonprofit organization that conducts ocean research around the world, will study the white shark population along the coasts of Spain, France and Ireland. Research is expected to begin in late July and wrap up in mid-September.
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Chris Fischer, Ocearch founder and expedition leader, said Tuesday that the trip will be the most difficult thing the organization has ever tried.
“There’s never been an animal captured in that region of the world, tagged, to begin a journey like this, but if it were easy it would already be done,” Fischer said. “We’re not afraid of being told things are impossible. We’ve been hearing that for years.”
Experts say the white shark population in the Mediterranean Sea has been getting worse for centuries and is critically endangered. Ocearch believes that understanding white sharks is important because they help balance the ecosystem of the ocean.
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Fischer said the expedition will help other regions around the world improve the oceans around them, so they can enjoy the benefits of healthy ocean life.
“It’s not going to do us any good if our oceans are teaming with life and everyone else is trying to come here and steal our fish. So we have to go around the world, and we have to help them thrive as well,” Fischer said.
This will be the 47th expedition for the organization, which will soon call Mayport home. Groundbreaking is expected to begin on the organization’s new headquarters in Mayport in November.
Ocearch and Jacksonville University on Tuesday announced their renewed partnership in the work.
Jacksonville University and Ocearch have collaborated on 17 expeditions and conducted more than a thousand hours of research over the past seven years, the groups said in a news release.
The new partnership includes a new logo and will now be referred to as “Ocearch at Jacksonville
University.”
The new headquarters will include an area where the public can learn more about sharks and their importance to the ocean. It also will include a laboratory to study marine life, a dock for an Ocearch ship and basic housing for research and crew members of the ship.
The headquarters will create a home for Ocearch and also offer JU students the opportunity for experiential learning, the groups said.
Fischer said the new facility should be completed by late 2025 or early 2026.
