Dr. James Sulikowski – a Professor at UNE

 Today we had Dr. James Sulikowski – a Professor at UNE come as our guest speaker.  James brought him as the guest, and apparently he has seen him naked… it got a little awkward for a few minutes. Dr. James Sulikowski did a great job in his presentation, but I will NEVER swim in the ocean again! He told us how UNE is teaching students about Marine Entrepreneurship, Conservation and Restoration, Ocean Studies, and Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture. The Seafood Industry is a $2 billion industry (I’m in the wrong profession!). In the Sustainable Ecological program, they study blue fish Tuna, Scallops, and Munk Fish – which is the poor man’s lobster and you can only eat the tail. If anyone sees a big red ball floating by the Dam, call UNE because their Receiver is floating away!

 

Dr. James Sulikowski then started talking about Sharks. The Gulf of Maine has 8 species of Sharks within 10 miles from the beaches (GGRREEEAAATTTT!) The Spiny Dogfish shark is the smallest shark we have. They are typically used for Fish n Chips in Europe! Next up is the Blue Shark. They’re scavengers and eats just about anything! They like to hang out off the shore. The Common Thresher Shark was interesting. They use their long tails to stun schools of fish. When the fish fall he gobbles them up! The Thresher Shark apparently tastes delicious and is sold in the grocery store. Next Shark in our area is the Mako Shark. They are the fastest sharks and they LOVE eating Blue Fish. They are very aggressive, and Dr. Sulikowski said they are yummy and taste like steak (I’ll take his word for it!). The next Shark we have is the Porbeagle. They have a white patch on their fin. They are also fast and love to eat fish. They can get to be as big as 9 feet! The good Doctor then told us about Sand Tigger sharks. They are proposed to be threatened. They are super slow swimmers but like the Canadians, they like to hang off the Pier in OOB. Of course we have the famous Great White Shark! They are going to coming around more often because the Seal Population is increasing like crazy! The last shark we have is the Basking Shark. They can grow to be 30 feet long!!! They LOVE to hang out by the shore and you can see them coming very close starting in June. They don’t have teeth they have sandpaper!

 

Dr. James Sulikowski tried to but our minds to rest by telling us that we have a better chance of getting bit on the Subway in New York City than getting bit by a Shark – I didn’t find this comforting one bit!!

 

Sharks can live to be 75 years old!! They only have a handful of babies in their life time and they only have one baby at a time. Apparently Sharks can get pregnant with multiples but the first Shark to grow teeth... um… eats his brothers and sisters... eww!

 

UNE tags sharks with removable tags that float to the top and give up to date information! Each tag is between $4,000 and $5,000!