More about the event:

The sharks being released were initially collected from the coastal waters of Balgal Beach and brought back to the marine and aquaculture research facility at James Cook University for PhD candidate Aaron Hasenei’s doctoral research. Aaron’s project is the first of its kind, integrating multiple levels of biological organization from the genetic to organismal level to determine the resilience of the epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) to ocean warming. Using a multidisciplinary approach, Aaron is examining gene expression changes, blood-oxygen carrying capacities, critical enzyme functions, whole-animal metabolic rates, and swimming/walking performance of these animals to investigate the capacity of this species to adapt/acclimate to chronic and acute ocean warming. After the sharks have undergone these experiments at three temperatures ecologically relevant to current-day and end-of-the-century conditions, they are tagged with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and will be released back to the wild for this event! The overarching objective of this conservation-focused research is to utilize these amazing animals as a model indicator species by comparing them to other species of oviparous elasmobranchs to forecast what species may be at risk and what species may have a fighting chance in an uncertain future.