The R/V ANGARI team welcomed a group of students and educators from The Benjamin School to work alongside scientists from Florida International University (FIU) to conduct shark research in Palm Beach County.
EXPEDITION DETAILS
March 10, 2026
Palm Beach County, FL
Mia Gabb
Lorenzo Marro-Ambrosini
Gabby Ocha
William Sample
Emily Spurgeon
All sharks were fished for, caught, studied and released for research purposes under Florida permits held by Florida International University scientists.
The R/V ANGARI crew welcomed aboard students and educators from The Benjamin School and scientists from Florida International University’s College of Arts, Sciences and Education (FIU) to participate in a Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks expedition. Everyone was excited for a beautiful day on the water and an exciting day of shark research with the FIU science team! Participants were taught how to build and deploy baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS), as well as how to utilize the footage captured to assess the population of different marine species in an area. Additionally, the students learned how to use drumlines, a specialized type of fishing gear used for shark research.
Students began the day by breaking into teams to assemble and deploy a BRUVS in a corner of the Lake Worth Lagoon. While the BRUVS sat on the seafloor, students worked with FIU scientists to apply their marine species identification skills to BRUVS footage previously captured on R/V ANGARI expeditions and clips submitted to the Global Fin Print project.
After retrieving the BRUVS, the team headed offshore and students and scientists began assembling drumlines! Each drumline consists of a concrete weight, monofilament line, circle hook, bait and buoys. Throughout the day, the team caught three nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) and a great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran)! After the FIU science team safely secured each shark to the stern of R/V ANGARI, students were invited down to assist with the scientific workup. Students helped to take different body measurements, tissue samples and tag each shark. Before safely releasing one of the nurse sharks, students and educators examined the shark’s dermal denticles that give the animal its rough skin. Overall, the team deployed a total of 14 drumlines!
After an exciting day offshore of Palm Beach County, the team headed back into the Lake Worth Lagoon to review their BRUVS footage and debrief on a busy day of fieldwork. We are grateful for another exciting day on the water with students from The Benjamin School as part of our Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks program!
CHIEF SCIENTIST
Will Sample is a Ph.D. candidate in the Marine Community and Behavioral Ecology Lab at Florida International University. His current research uses both long-term historical datasets and newer methods, such as high-resolution accelerometry, to study the movement and behavioral ecology of juvenile bull sharks. He specifically focuses on the way these sharks may be transporting nutrients across habitat boundaries, how they may be optimizing their movements to save energy and what the long-term implications of different behaviors they specialize in may be. Will’s research in the Florida Everglades studying the ways sharks move through this crucial ecosystem is important for conservation and informing habitat restoration and management efforts. Will earned a B.S. in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Florida Atlantic University in 2018 and has lived all throughout Florida for most of his life, from Jacksonville to Jupiter to the Keys. He is passionate about community outreach and education, particularly regarding Florida’s natural habitats, and currently serves as lead scientist for ANGARI’s Palm Beach County based Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks program aboard R/V ANGARI.
