University of Hawaii (UH) researchers are tracking over 30 tiger sharks via satellite transmitters to observe their movement in Maui waters.

Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) funded a two-year satellite-tracking project focusing on tiger shark movements due to the increase number of shark attacks over the past two years.

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Last October, lead researcher Dr. Carl Meyer of University of Hawai'i, Institute of Marine Biology and Senior shark scientist Kim Holland began following the tiger sharks "to study their natural behavior and movement patterns."

"The tagging efforts are providing new insights into the coastal habitats most frequently visited by tiger sharks around Maui," according to the UH Institute of Marine Biology.

"The predators prefer coastal shelf areas in depths of less than 600 feet and Maui County islands have a coastal shelf that extends up to 10 miles offshore, larger than most other Hawaiian islands," Dr. Meyer explained.

"Although these sharks also roam far out into the open-ocean, they are most frequently detected in the area between the coast and the 600 ft depth contour which is up to 10 miles offshore around Maui," the researcher added.

Dr. Holland and the UH Institute of Marine Biology said preliminary data from sharks tagged off O'ahu revealed some differences in their behavior, Maui News reported.

"We are seeing the exact same depth preferences around O'ahu, but the most frequently used sites don't line up with popular swimming and surfing sites to the extent that they do around Maui," Dr. Holland said.

He also added that "both O'ahu and Maui have high levels of recreational ocean use, yet Maui has a higher rate of shark bites. We need to understand tiger shark movements in our coastal waters to gain a clearer comprehension of the circumstances bringing sharks and humans together.

The agency plans to use the study findings to guide future decisions regarding management of shark populations statewide.

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