How To Measure a Shark (Safely)

by brian lam

Measuring a shark. You could do it by catching one, and holding up a tape measure from its fin to its head, without harming it or yourself. Or you could use a camera rig.

This is what Dr Mark Meekan and Gabriel Vianna are doing in the shark sanctuary at Palau: Using two cameras and the geometry between them to measure the sharks. The technique, which has been described before in a 2009 paper entitled A Review of Underwater Stereo-Image Measurement For marine Biology and Ecology Applications, seems like the way to go.

*save our seas via theseamonster. Donate to Save Our Seas. Image Credit Peter Verhoog*

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