Jennifer and Carl Mazzanti, CEO and Vice President of eMazzanti Technologies, just completed a trip to Iceland. While there they connected research teams at the WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute) and Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium with Iceland’s Bjarnarhöfn Shark Museum. The Bjarnarhöfn Museum claims to be the leader in knowledge and history of the Greenland Shark.
“Christian Bjarnarhöfn, owner and operator of the Shark Museum has got tooth, bone and tissue samples of Greenland sharks going back hundreds of years,” stated Alison T. Kline, Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The Mazzanti’s hope to promote collaboration between the museum, Mote Marine and WHOI, operator of the popular SharkCam. Whereas, the Mote Marine Laboratory has been studying sharks for many years, often attaching satellite tracking devices to various shark species.
WHOI SharkCam
Amy Kukulya, WHOI Senior Ocean Vehicle Operations Engineer, WHOI, and project leader for the Discovery Channel SharkCam has been working on a proposal with National Geographic to use SharkCams to study Greenland sharks under ice. The Mazzantis worked with Kukulya on previous whale shark tagging and tracking projects.
eMazzanti Technologies previously won a bid to name the first female whale shark to be featured on the Ocearch Shark Tracker website. The bid was donated to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) TOTEM project as part of the company’s Blue Project philanthropic efforts to protect ocean wildlife. The Mazzantis, who sponsor and participate in shark tagging trips, are WHOI Associates, 1930 Society Members and long-time WHOI supporters.
eMazzanti’s staff named the shark Rocky, after the company’s late ocean-loving mascot Shih Tzu dog, Rocky Mazzanti. Rocky swims the Atlantic as an average size female weighing in at approximately 25,000 pounds. Whale sharks exist as a large but gentile shark species.
“Whale sharks are gentle giants that need our protection,” stated Jennifer Mazzanti. “Through the Ocearch tracking project, we hope to raise awareness and change opinions of sharks in general.”
