Karen Grady (TAS 2017) and Kristin Hannan, a Fishery Biologist from NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center shared shark jaws, vertebrae, and other specimens with an excited crowd at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History “Expert is In” event on June 28, 2017.  

Karen sailed with Kristin this past spring on an experimental longline survey on board NOAA Ship Oregon II. Karen discussed her two-week journey helping scientists monitor shark populations, while Kristin explained the importance of maintaining a healthy shark population for a healthy ocean. Karen Grady is a Gifted and Talented educator in Lavaca, Arkansas. She sailed as a Teacher at Sea in April 2017. Kristin Hannan is a Fishery Biologist at NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She studies long-term trends in shark abundance, diets, distribution and reproduction in sharks found throughout the Gulf of Mexico and off the East coast as far north as Cape Hatteras in North Carolina.