Comparison of Video and Diver Observations of Sharks from a Fishery-Independent Trap-Video Survey off East-Central Florida, Including Utility of an Alternative Method of Video Analysis

We assessed the utility of an alternative method of video analysis for generating data for sharks and compared observations of sharks from the use of baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) with observations made by scuba divers during surveys conducted simultaneously with BRUVS video recordings. Videos were made off east-central Florida as part of a fishery-independent trap-video survey of fish species in hard-bottom reef habitats. In videos from 25 of 72 sites, we observed sharks, including the nurse (Ginglymostoma cirratum), tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier), spinner (Carcharhinus brevipinna), sandbar (C. plumbeus), Atlantic sharpnose (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae), bull (C. leucas), and lemon (Negaprion brevirostris) sharks. In contrast, divers observed 3 species of sharks at 5 sites. We conclude that video observations are superior to diver observations for detecting sharks. Rapidly viewing an entire video (the alternative method), rather than viewing only a 20-min segment (the standard protocol), has the potential to increase the number of sites where sharks are observed and the number of shark species that are observed in video analysis (as it did, by 400% and 40%, respectively, in this study). This method holds promise for providing critical information without extraction of specimens and for aiding stock assessments and essential fish habitat delineation for these important predators.