Click to see more pictures from the expedition. Tim Calver, a member of the team, is filing a series of dispatches from the field. Friday, March 10 Lama lagoon, our chosen research area, is an offshoot of the main Rocas lagoon. At its widest point, Lama Lagoon is probably only 10 or 20 meters across. At high tide it is 10 feet deep, but at low tide it is completely dry.
Lemon sharks swim into the lagoon with the incoming tide, then leave as the tide begins to turn.
Our plan for the night was to wait until Lama was full of sharks, then we would stretch a net across the entrance and capture sharks as they left. The researchers trapped the lemon sharks in Lama Lagoon, which is water-filled at high tide, but dry land at low tide. As the sun set, Kevin Kearney, who had stood watch at the lagoon's entrance, estimated somewhere near 30 sharks had entered the lagoon. As quickly as possible, we deployed a large net, completely blocking Lama's entrance. These silvery, streamlined animals are prized sport fish.