First IVF Shark Born in Australia

The brown banded bamboo shark pup was born on March 3, ending a process which began in September when aquarists collected a semen sample from a shark in Mooloolaba in northeastern Australia.

This was flown to the southern city of Melbourne and inseminated into the mother the same day – making the pup the first shark to be born globally via a live semen sample transported from one facility to another, Sea Life said.

Melbourne Aquarium vet Rob Jones said the birth of the shark – which is expected to grow from its initial length of 6.3 inches to an adult size of 1.2 to 1.5 metres – was a milestone in using assisted reproductive technologies.

“This is a big leap,” said Mr Jones.

The hatching is part of a nine-year project into understanding the reproductive behaviours of sharks, animals which are common in Australia but are little understood.

The team hope their research will help with plans to manage threatened species in the wild, in particular the critically endangered grey nurse shark.

The egg, one of several laid by the shark in November but the only viable one, was monitored weekly during its incubation period of 112 days.

“With each insemination attempt, we continue to learn about the reproductive behaviours of Australian shark species,” said Melbourne Aquarium research consultant Jon Daly.

“Hopefully we can use this technology as a basis for breeding grey nurse sharks in captivity and, in years to come, boost the species’ dwindling numbers in the wild.”

Grey nurse sharks are considered critically endangered, with estimates that there could be as few as 1,500 left on Australia’s east coast.

Source: www.tribune.com.pk