Divers wanting to log encounters with any species of shark on their Android, including Sevengill sharks, can now download the app for free at: http://tinyurl.com/d289ukt on their Android phones.
Sevengill shark encounters have been on the increase again this year in San Diego, after a hiatus of a year, following reports of encounters in 2011 and 2010.
This week, San Diego divers Walter Chung and Karl Haywood encountered a couple male Sevengills while cruising near La Jolla Cove. Chung said the sharks did not seem bothered by their scooters, as they followed the sharks along, see attached video.
Michael Bear, founder of Sevengill Shark Sightings.org has been tracking this species in San Diego since 2009, says it is unclear why this species has been making such appearances until more data is gathered as part of a long-term population dynamics study he is doing. Developing the Shark Spotters app for Android was part of this effort to make logging encounters with this species easier for divers on their phones after a dive.
The app takes Android users directly to a web site set up for tracking Sevengill sharks:
http://sevengillsharksightings.org, which in turn, feeds directly into the global database of the Shark Observation Network, run by Jeffrey Gallant of the the Greenland Shark and Elasmobranch Education and Research Group [GEERG] in Canada.
Facebook users can go to: https://www.facebook.com/SharkObserver
