August 20, 2010
Friday, August 20
The Oceana Latitude gained five new crew members today for its upcoming effort to tag whale sharks off the coast of southeastern Louisiana.
Oceana’s vice president for Chile Alex Munoz and marine scientist Elizabeth Wilson joined Dr. Eric Hoffmayer and Jennifer McKinney from the University of Southern Mississippi. Here’s Dr. Hoffmayer on a recent segment of NBC Nightly News.
Associated Press reporter Rich Mathews is also now onboard. You might remember Rich from his dive into the Gulf oil spill without a hazmat suit on June 7. Here’s a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGX7krQYI_4.
While in transit to Ewing Bank, the shark experts spent time discussing the detailed operation for the coming days, including the use of Oceana’s Chilean ROV, two spotter planes and multiple boats.