*** In Person Speaker ***

Samantha Noyes is an undergraduate student at Florida Atlantic University College of Science focusing on Marine Biology and is a fall intern with the American Shark Conservancy through the School of Environmental, Coastal and Ocean Sustainability (ECOS) program.

The American Shark Conservancy was formed in 2017 by Hannah Medd after leaving a global conservation organization so she could focus on the issues in her own backyard in South Florida. ASC is a scientific organization based in Palm Beach Gardens that conducts research that can be applied to management and conservation policies for vulnerable shark species. 

There are national, regional, and local networks that coordinate responses to injured or deceased marine wildlife, mostly marine mammals and turtles. However, Florida currently has no statewide protocol for responding to injured or deceased sharks. ASC created the Shark Reporting and Response Network (SRRN) to help build the capacity to respond, collect samples, and disseminate those samples to appropriate facilities for research. The value of building out a coordinated effort in responding to these events allows for the collection of samples that would otherwise require lethal sampling but can afford critical insights into the individual’s cause of death as well as insights into the growth, diet, reproduction, and habitat use of vulnerable and endangered species.