Researchers probe lemon sharks’ trips to SC

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Researchers based in the United Kingdom are trying to find out why South Carolina counts the lemon shark among its legions of summertime visitors.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports (http://bit.ly/pUTpmV ) that the sharks, which can grow up to 12 feet long, are usually found in waters around Florida, except in the summer, when they swim to South Carolina.

Steven Kessel, a researcher at Cardiff University in Wales, is hoping to tag a few lemon sharks with tracking devices to learn whether the migration might be related to the reproductive cycle or other biological imperatives.

Although typically large, the sharks aren’t much of a threat to people. The state Department of Natural Resources says lemon sharks have never been implicated in an attack on humans on the East Coast.

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Information from: The Island Packet, http://www.islandpacket.com