(gentle wind blowing) (birds squawking) (peaceful music) (birds squawking) (peaceful music continues) - [Gregory] Rhode Island, known by many as the ocean state, may be the smallest state in the US, but its waters tell stories deeper than most.

Along its coastline, the state contains bountiful shoreline and marine ecosystems that are integral to the New England region.

(birds squawking) From the rich salt marshes that harbor hunting ground for wading birds and other animals.

To seagrass meadows, which provide important nursery habitat for many different species of fish and invertebrates that inhabit North Atlantic waters.

Rhode Island and its surrounding coastline provide habitat for a vast array of marine life, mammals, fish, and countless other creatures that call the ocean home.

Within these waters, a story unfolds, one of speed, stealth, and misunderstood beauty.

Sharks play a vital role in maintaining the health of our ocean ecosystems and there's a select few who follow their path, who monitor their presence- - Nice job!

Nice job!

- Species by species.

Scientists who dedicate their lives to chasing fins.

(waves crashing) (gentle music) (birds squawking) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (waves crashing) Offshore, beyond the gaze of beach goers, an ocean predator glides silently through the currents.

Sharks, ancient, vital, and far more present in these waters than most would ever imagine.

- I think when a lot of people think about New England they don't think about sharks, right?

You tend to favor warm tropical areas, but the fact of the matter is historically we have had at least a dozen species of sharks that visit the northeastern waters of the US, you know?

And some of those sharks go as far north as Canada.

So we've got a dozen species now and I think that's going to increase, particularly with the changing climate.

- [Gregory] Sharks have quite the reputation.

Much of that fame could be attributed to shark-related media.

When most think of shark hotspots, many will think of areas like Guadalupe Island off Baja, California, an area made famous for its white shark populations.

The big charismatic predator garnering major attention.

Little do many know that sharks are just as prolific in most of New England's waters and Rhode Island hosts habitat for many different species of sharks.

From dogfish, small bottom dwelling sharks that could be found off the coastline, to mako sharks, a fast pelagic species that migrates through farther offshore.

Given the prevalence of shark species in Rhode Island, shark scientists utilize the ocean state and the surrounding waters as their research areas.

- Here's our ecosystem classic.

If anybody's taken a biology course, here's your apex predator way up at the top.

Shark health is ocean health and ocean health is our health.

So we're all about what's going on in the world of sharks and how we can make sure that they are managed the way that they should be.

So, changes in shark population, they have serious repercussions on ocean health.

(audience applauds) - [Gregory] The Atlantic Shark Institute founded by Jon Dodd began as a small 501c3 and has quickly grown into a network of some of the country's most esteemed shark scientists, shark enthusiasts, photographers, and citizen scientists.

- One of the interesting things about this shark research world is you've got these colleges and universities.

There's a place for them.

You've got NGOs, you've got governmental organizations, you've got, some overlap, and sometimes you have really big gaps.

And that's where we felt there was an opportunity to create the Atlantic Shark Institute to do something that was unique, special, and could really get a big bang for the research dollar.

We went out and assembled the best team we possibly could and away we went.

- I work for the state agency, so it's a government agency, but it's critically important that I collaborate with academic institutions, private institutions, nonprofits like the Atlantic Shark Institute.

It's really important that we share information and we double up on efforts.

We compliment each other and we learn from each other and that's important.

That kind of collaborative research leads to, you know, faster results and I find it very rewarding.

- [Gregory] The ASI acts as a bridge within the marine biology community, uniting scientists and conservationists along the East Coast for research, but it also supports student work in the area.

Recently, the ASI has helped fund three graduate students, each with unique research having to do with sharks and ocean conservation.

- We don't think there's a more important place to be, frankly, than working with these young students.

I mean, they're the future of anything.

And at the end of the day, these are the people that will teach the next generation.

So if we can get 'em out there, getting them on the water, let's fund their bait, let's fund the equipment they might need.

Let's get 'em a scholarship.

Let's get 'em some funding and let's get rolling.

- [Gregory] One of the ASI's most active studies revolves around the Institute's acoustic array, a network of sensors that collect information of passerby sharks that have been previously tagged.

Every year, Jon and the ASI team intercept migrating shark species, tagging them with acoustic tags, each carefully crafted for deployment.

(gentle music) (birds chirping) - This is an acoustic tag.

This is gonna last hopefully 10 years.

Every time a shark swims within about 600 to a thousand yards of an acoustic receiver, it's gonna register this shark using that unique identifier.

So, we've just built it.

It's ready to go.

We've got our anchor on the end, sharp point.

This will go in about that far into the shark.

This will stay out of the shark.

Hopefully give us 10 years of data, 10 years of migration up and down the East Coast.

And hopefully this tag will teach us a lot about sharks and shark survival.

What's really nice about this tool and this application, this is for transducers, so it's really good at allowing this acoustic ping to do exactly what it needs to do.

It's gonna make sure that we eliminate biofouling.

Let it dry for about a day, and we're finally ready to deploy.

- [Gregory] Once the tags are built, Jon sends them to the network of shark scientists, citizen scientists and fishermen who tag sharks that they either run into on research trips, or in the case of the fishermen, are accidentally caught as bycatch.

Shark tagging trips are among Jon's favorite field work.

Each trip meticulously planned to increase the odds of running into sharks.

- So, what's funny is anybody can go out and catch a shark on any given day, right?

That happens all the time.

The question is, can you get this done on a consistent basis?

Can you get it done with the species you're looking for?

Can you get it done in the areas you need, the sexes you're trying to find, the sizes you're trying to find?

At the end of the day, our season up here in New England is relatively short.

And as long as we plan it out and we do what we need to do and we use our past experiences and what we've learned, we should have a successful day and that's what it's all about when you get on the water.

(gentle music) Okay, so here we are.

We're out in the Northwest Atlantic.

We're about 30 miles south of Rhode Island in Montauk, New York coast.

So here's the next phase, right?

We were able to build these acoustic tags to our specifications.

And actually we had a really successful deployment about an hour or so ago.

We had a beautiful female mako shark, just a little under six feet, which is a beautiful shark.

So she swam away with one of these.

It'll last 10 years.

And as a reminder, acoustic technology picks up any acoustic receiver along the entire eastern seaboard.

We'll pick this tag up and will let us know exactly where that shark is going for the next 10 years.

So we'll get her on her northern migration, her southern migration and up, up, up, up, up, up, up.

We just got picked up.

We just got picked up.

- Keep them on surface.

- Yep, coming up to the surface.

Keep an eye on this.

Looks like it could be another mako.

Yeah.

- [Gregory] A mako has found its way along the chum slick to the boat.

Now it's the team's chance to catch and tag the shark.

Even after one shows up, it can take time until the shark strikes the bait.

- The key here is we want to hook the shark.

We only use circle hooks so you really avoid any gut hooking.

You really want this shark to consume this bait, but not so long and not so deeply that you end up with an issue.

She's going for it.

She's going for it again.

Paul, you want to take this?

- No, that's all right.

(water splashing) - Oh!

- She got off.

- Yep, there she is.

- Hang on.

- Well, we lost the mako.

We had a mako probably for 25 minutes at the boat grabbing some baits.

But we now have a large blue shark that's moved in, which actually is another good species for us.

We have a project with Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management who wants us to tag these sharks.

So hopefully we can get this shark to the boat, and get done what we couldn't get done with that mako.

(water whirling) - [Gregory] Blue sharks are among the North Atlantic's most common pelagic species of sharks.

This one is about six feet length.

- [Jon] There we go.

Here it comes!

(water splashing) - Wow!

Wow!

- It's a big fish!

(reel buzzing) Take your time, man.

It's right there.

- [Gregory] The team confirms the length and individual characteristics like the shark before, deploying an acoustic tag.

- [Fisherman] That's six foot.

Six foot female.

- [Gregory] Once the tag is deployed, the hook is removed or cut and the shark returns back to the depths.

Tagging is not the only project that the Atlantic Shark Institute leads.

- So this is called a BRUV, a Baited Remote Underwater Video System, acronym.

Pretty simple, but actually really effective.

So got a bait cage here with an arm that we can actually extend and we can lock in at different distances from the structure itself.

Attach a GoPro here facing out, fill it with bait.

We get the coolest stuff on these things and that's what makes it really exciting to watch this video.

- [Gregory] Baited remote underwater video systems, AKA BRUVs, are another cornerstone of local Rhode Island shark research.

The ASI collaborates with the Block Island Maritime Institute to film and collect important data off Block Island.

- The Block Island Maritime Institute works very closely with Atlantic Shark Institute's BRUV Study.

We help out with reviewing and setting up cameras for their study when they go out and drop these baited structures with video cameras on them that captures one, the miraculous life that is surrounding the Block Island waters, but also that glimpse of watching different shark species swim by.

- [Gregory] Small teams of researchers and citizen scientists board volunteer boats that deploy off Block Island.

The goal is to release the cameras at strategic areas where the ocean life will congregate with the hope of catching sharks in the mix.

On these cameras, an underwater world, not often seen off New England is revealed.

BRUVs attract a host of different species.

Smaller fish like scup and trigger fish.

Small shark species such as dogfish.

Skates and rays who grab a nibble of the bait one nearby and even leatherback turtles can be seen from the footage collected.

- So what people don't realize is, you know, if you don't see a shark on the surface, you don't see a shark on a fish line.

We didn't detect a shark, right, on our acoustic telemetry.

What's down there?

And the reality is you don't know unless you put on scuba gear and run into it.

That's where BRUVs come in.

So we're able to drop these baited remote underwater video systems to the bottom with bait on 'em, so we get really fantastic video of these things that are very comfortable because there's no one in the water spooking them.

And they're not dissimilar to a lobster trap, frankly, or some other structure, so they're very comfortable around them.

(peaceful music) - [Gregory] Elsewhere off the Atlantic, closer to Montauk and New York, the ASI is on another mission, tagging spinner sharks.

Jake Barreta, a graduate of University of Rhode Island is leading a study on spinner sharks.

- All right, so we're nearshore today on the hunt for spinner sharks, carcharhinus brevipinna.

What we are out here today doing and trying to accomplish is tagging them acoustically.

And this study, this research will help elucidate more of their movement ecology of these animals, how they migrate, where can you find them, at what times of year, what habitat are they using?

And potentially too, where they're feeding or pupping or nursing or breeding.

- [Gregory] The team finds a school, releasing bait as they situate themselves to wait for a strike.

Everything seems quiet.

That is until.

- We got a potential spinner shark.

Carcharhinus brevipinna on the line right now.

Josh is tucking it out a little bit.

And then once we can get it close enough to the boat, I'll get a tailrope on it.

We'll secure it, we'll measure it, we'll tag it, and we'll set it free.

- It is.

- Oh.

It's a spinner.

It's a spinner.

It's a spinner.

Let's go!

(reel buzzing) This is fantastic news because, you know, we've been out here for a couple of hours now looking for schools of bunker and you know, you never know what you're gonna get.

(water slashing) - So the important thing right now is we don't want to pull this shark too hard because we have a lighter rod.

This was actually a bait rod and he picked up the bait.

Precarious, but we feel pretty good about it, but this, this gear is not designed for this size shark.

(water splashing) - [Gregory] Once the shark is close to the boat, the team uses rope to safely subdue the animal.

By flipping the shark upside down, it enters tonic immobility, relaxing the shark.

Jake installs an internal acoustic tag, creating a clean cut and suturing the shark at the scene.

Once the incision is sealed, the team releases the shark who goes back into the depths.

- We got it!

We got it!

- Oh my God.

- That was really nice.

- Great job.

Great job.

- [Gregory] To date, in the span of just a few years, the ASI are collaborators on more than 10 different research projects and published authors on the majority of those research efforts.

Proof that scientific institutions such as the ASI are integral for connecting traditional science and citizen science together.

Sharks connect our environments, keep habitats healthy, and in this case, can even unite communities under a common goal of oceanic conservation.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (music slows down) (soft music continues) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - Hi, my name is Tomas Koeck, and I'm the director, producer and director of photography for "Ocean State, Rhode Island's Wild Coast."

- And hi, I'm Jon Dodd.

I'm the executive director of the Atlantic Shark Institute and I was the associate producer on "Chasing Fins."

(vibrant music) - "Chasing Fins" started out as an idea for something bigger and it really led way to "Ocean State, Rhode Island's Wild Coast."

I see media all the time that has to do with all these different environments all over the world.

There's not too many documentaries that focus on environments like what we have here in New England.

And I thought Rhode Island was the perfect vertex because you have a lot of animals and species coming from the south and from the north.

So you have this really amazing intersection.

- You really opened my eyes too, you know, I've been in Rhode Island my entire life, been on the ocean my entire life, interacted with a lot of these animals, and sometimes it becomes a commonplace.

It becomes second nature.

Some of the things you don't see or don't stand out until you bring somebody in like Tomas with a different kind of eye.

And he started saying, "Holy cow, look at what you have here.

We need to do more with this.

We have to document it and we have to share it with people at Rhode Island and in the region and nationally."

(gentle music) So I actually grew up here in Southern New England, spent my entire life here.

Was blessed to have a place down in Stonington, Connecticut right along the shore on the Rhode Island border.

So I've spent my entire lifetime from when I was a young boy to today exploring Rhode Island's waters.

They're always changing.

And what's really interesting is you can spend 10 minutes in one area, 10 minutes in another, 10 minutes further down the road, and you feel like you're in every single time you do it, you feel like you're in a different environment.

And what's funny is it's all still in the state of Rhode Island here in Southern New England, which makes it that much more special.

- You want to show the wild in everyone else's backyards around here in New England.

You know, not many people know that there's so many different things that go on around here and sharks was just one of these aspects.

- I think one of the more interesting things about this whole process has been engaging with Tomas on the diversity we have here.

I mean, it's really an amazing place to do work and it changes every day, which makes it that much more exciting for us and the people that get to engage in it.

(gentle music) - One of the challenges with filmmaking is you can never predict wildlife.

You know, sometimes we're getting in the water with the sharks.

Other times we're deploying pole cams to try to film the sharks.

I noticed that one of the challenges that quickly came up here was trying to navigate weather.

- It's just so unpredictable.

They say the weather's gonna be A on Tuesday.

We're gonna go Tuesday.

Monday comes around and Tuesday suddenly looks terrible.

And then, okay, it's gonna be Thursday.

No, Thursday doesn't look good and then it turns out to be wonderful, so out we run.

So you have to be very flexible in that regard.

Second thing is these darn sharks, you know?

You can't tell 'em what to do.

You can't tell 'em how to act.

You can't tell 'em when to come into frame or when to leave frame.

Not only that, species, right?

So we're out there, we're looking at water temperature and bait and bottom structure and a whole bunch of things to try to determine what species might be in what area based on what our research focus is, but also our storytelling focus.

And you know, it's fun when all these pieces come together.

Everything fits in like a puzzle and you're on the way home saying, "Wow, that couldn't have worked out any better, and people are really gonna enjoy this."

- I'll never forget the last time we went out, it was actually this season, you know, it was for a scouting trip, but we had spent hours out there.

We had found the conditions that were right.

It was nice, flat calm and hour one went by, hour two went by, hour three went by.

And five, six hours later we started packing up.

Not a single shark had shown up that day.

And we were, you know, Jon always tells us, you know, because we'll help clean up as well, you know, when we're packing up, leave out one rod.

Let's just leave out one rod, one line.

And you know, that's kind of the last ditch effort to be like, okay, maybe we'll get something.

Maybe we'll get one shark coming up to the boat.

And a lot of times when he says things like that, you're like, nah, that's not gonna happen.

Like, this is just like- - We're just cleaning the boat and going.

- Yeah, we're desperate.

You know what I mean?

That's what we're thinking.

But sure enough, on this trip, we, I'll never forget, I was putting my last camera away, clicked the box shut and then you're hearing (Tomas imitating reel buzzing) and you hear the line going off and we're all, we all couldn't believe it.

We're like, is this, are we imagining?

Are we hallucinating?

And sure enough, there was that beautiful mako shark.

- Big mako on the surface.

- Yep.

- And was twisted and turning and splashing, and turned into quite a show.

And we ended up, we fought that shark for a little while and chased it to the horizon.

We're able to get it to the boat.

Gorgeous shark, able to take some samples off of it, get the sex, the size, different lengths.

- [Tomas] They got the hooks out too.

- Yeah, there were extra hooks in that shark actually.

So we were able to get some extra hooks out of it, clean him up and send it on its way.

So it was one of those days you just can't predict.

And in that case, actually, the water temperature was 62 on the surface and only 50 feet down was 51.

And when we determined that, I said, "Boy, we're working with a really narrow column of water we can work in, because of the species we were chasing."

So the question all day was, "Should we move?

Should we move?"

And no one was doing anything around us that day.

- No.

- Everyone kept complaining.

I mean, said, "There's nothing here."

But we decided to stay with it and it turned into a remarkable day and a remarkable catch for research and also for purposes of sharing what we do and why it's important.

(gentle music) - You know, "Ocean State, Rhode Island's Wild Coast."

You know, while this is a film series that is gonna be centered around what's going on right here in Rhode Island, we're looking to cover things throughout New England and also talk about the relationships between New England's oceanic wildlife and beyond.

So we have a lot of things planned.

We got a lot more stuff planning with sharks and Jon.

Jon's gonna be a major partner on a production that we got coming up that we're not gonna announce just yet.

But to all those shark lovers out there, we got more coming out for you.

And then for people that are looking for other species of wildlife, yes, we've got more stuff with whales, more stuff with eelgrass, a lot more coming at you.

And we just really appreciate you tuning into "Ocean State, Rhode Island's Wild Coast."

(gentle music)