When the Shark Bites, Blair Benefits!

Marine science students enjoyed the unique opportunity this week to dissect a six-foot-long female blue shark weighing 150 pounds. Teacher Rod Gerdsen explained, “The shark was caught by Chris Jensen, father of Corey Jensen ’09, in an area of the Atlantic Ocean called Monster Ledge just off the southern coast of Staten Island. She was swimming behind Mr. Jensen’s boat as he fished for tuna on Monday afternoon and – when offered a big chunk of fish on a hook – couldn’t resist and was caught. I drove down to the marina Monday afternoon, placed her in a specially designed storage box, covered her with ice, and left her outside Bogle Hall overnight. The next day, two classes of marine science students dissected the shark, examining and weighing different parts of her body. The huge oily liver tipped the scale at 25 pounds, the caudal fin weight five pounds, and the rest of her muscular body accounted for another 120 pounds. There was a tag attached to her which is used to track blue sharks in the Atlantic; the students will provide whatever information is necessary to the Department of Fisheries.”

Rod added, “A big thank-you to Mr. Jensen for catching the shark and to Mark Moon ’84, for his support of this endeavor.”

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Posted 10/24/07

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