Marine biology and biology students at Old Rochester Regional High School got to know their underwater neighbors better on Friday, Feb. 28.

Fishery biologist, John Chisholm from the National Marine Fishery Service in New Bedford, traveled to ORR to tell students about sharks that swim in the area.

“I hope to educate these students about local sharks that may be located right in their backyard,” said Chisholm. “I want them to gain the appreciation of the diversity within the sharks in this area. There’s a lot of really cool science being done in the area so it was nice allowing these students to learn about it.”

As a fishery biologist, Chisholm studies the biology of the sharks off the shores of Massachusetts. He spends his days tracking sharks and takes time to spot them in the ocean and to study them.

The presentation consisted of PowerPoint slides containing pictures of several different sharks along with information for students. Chisholm explained the technology behind tracking devices that sharks are tagged with, which allowed students to see their travel patterns. He also explained specific characteristics in order to tell the kind of shark you may be looking at.

Lynn Connor, marine biology and biology teacher at ORR, organized Friday’s event.

“There has been new and exciting research in tagging of great whites by this team presently so I thought it would be beneficial for the students to receive a first hand look from a local biologist,” said Connor. She hopes that from this presentation, her students will be motivated to explore different career possibilities and learn real world science.

Several students attended the presentation to hear Chisholm speak about his most passionate topic.

“I was excited to learn about sharks,” said Bailey Truesdale, a junior. “I enjoyed learning about how sharks function and their daily life routine.”

At the end of the presentation, Chisholm fielded questions from students.