Caribbean reef shark being measured on deck

Four tiger sharks have been tagged with a new device that will help conservationists to conduct detailed analysis of their migrations over years.

The device, developed in collaboration with ESA, uses the Argos satellite telemetry system but is smaller and more durable than existing Argos tags, as well as being cheaper and more animal friendly.

It records pressure – indicating the depth of the shark – temperature, light level and tilt to enable three-dimensional mapping.

The tiger sharks were tagged off the coast of Saba in the Dutch Caribbean, during an expedition organised by the Dutch Elasmobranch Society, the Saba Conservation Foundation and Nature Foundation Sint Maarten.