Committee to Hold Hearing to Examine Innovations in Shark Research and Technology - Ranking Member Bill Nelson Opening Statement

Statement

I'd like to start by welcoming our witnesses, but especially Dr. Robert Hueter from Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. Dr. Hueter is the director of Mote's Center for Shark Research, which is the only congressionally-designated Center for Shark Research in the country. He also serves as a chief science advisor for OCEARCH, a nonprofit that does shark tagging and research and provides free, open-source data and education.

I just used their Global Shark Tracker app this morning and it's pretty amazing how far technology has come to be able to track the location of these tagged sharks in near-real time.

Our other three witnesses have Florida connections as well: Dr. Al Dove oversees the Georgia Aquarium Conservation Field Station, which is located in Flagler County, Florida. Dr. Cheryl Wilga received her PhD from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Ms. Kukulya used the remote environmental monitor unit off the coast of Panama City as part of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Fest. I'm delighted by the Florida representation here today. And I think it highlights the state's crucial and special role in shark research.

Florida is leading the way in shark research. We have the one of the longest coastlines in the U.S. and are home to many types of sharks. We have some of the world's top experts, including those of you right here on our panel. We have some of the world's best shark research centers and programs, at Mote, the University of Florida, the University of Miami, Nova Southeastern, Florida Atlantic University, the Florida Institute of Technology and more. Earlier this year, Florida researchers even discovered a new species of shark, the Atlantic sixgill shark.

Sharks are also important to Florida's economy, supporting commercial and recreational fishing and eco-tourism shark diving adventures. Believe it or not, some people pay money to swim with sharks! Sharks also help keep the ecosystem in balance and are important for the health of Florida's coral reefs, which are already suffering from a disease outbreak and warming water temperatures.

Now, I know there's some reason to fear sharks, too, and just last week there was a rare double shark encounter in Fernandina Beach in northern Florida with two men being bitten within the same hour.

Fortunately, the men have non-life-threatening injuries.

I want to thank the local fire department for quickly responding to the situation and immediately closing the beach until it was safe to reopen. But the reality is that the chances of an encounter are very low. Of the millions of tourists visiting the beaches and getting in the water in Florida each year, there are just a handful of encounters.

There's a lot we can learn from sharks. Sharks have been used to produce potential cancer-fighting and antibacterial medicines, smarter and more energy-efficient designs, and faster swimsuits used by Olympic athletes to name a few. I look forward to hearing about these developments and others from Dr. Hueter and the rest of the experts on the panel.

Given the long list of shark researchers in Florida and around the country, I suspect we may hear from some of them with more information on sharks. I ask for unanimous consent that any such comments may be submitted to the record.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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