Maritime Awards Society of Canada

Sharks of the San Juan Islands

5:30 pm | Tuesday December 8, 2009
Camp Orkila Larry Norman Lodge
Orcas Island, Washington

Marine Science Lecture Series

Ever wonder what we have for sharks in our waters? Now is the time to find out! On Tuesday, December 8th at 5:30 p.m. Gene Helfman will give a free public lecture entitled “Sharks of the San Juan Islands” for the Orcas Island Marine Lecture Series’ Family Night. Dr. Helfman is a fulltime resident of Lopez Island, having retired after 30 years on the faculty at the University of Georgia. YMCA Camp Orkila will host a free dinner at the Larry Norman Lodge and their staff will provide shark-related children’s educational activities, so bring the family.

“We may not have great whites but we have some pretty cool species like the 6-gill shark,” says SeaDoc scientist Joe Gaydos. This species typically inhabits depths greater than 300 ft, and has been recorded as deep as 6,150 ft, although they do come to shallower depths to feed. These are long-lived sharks and female 6-gills don’t even reach sexual maturity they are 18 to 35 years old. Pregnancy is no small deal. Their gestation period is unknown but scientists believe that it is longer than 2 years. Females give birth to 22 to 108 pups.

Dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. and the talk begins at 7 p.m. at the Camp Orkila Larry Norman Lodge. Both dinner and the lecture are free. Please park in the upper parking lot at Camp Orkila. Shuttle service from the parking lot to the talk is available before and after the lecture.

The 2009/10 Marine Science Lecture Series is presented by program partners The SeaDoc Society and YMCA Camp Orkila. It is made possible through generous sponsorship by Tom Averna (Deer Harbor Charters), and The Gould Family Foundation and co-sponsorship by Barbara Brown, Eclipse Charters, The Kingfish Inn, Shearwater Sea Kayak Tours, Jim and Kathy Youngren and West Sound Marina.
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The SeaDoc Society is a non-profit program of the Wildlife Health Center, a center of excellence at the world-renowned UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

For more information: Jean Spalti * SeaDoc Society * 360-376-3910
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