JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — While humans are celebrating mothers across the United States for Mother's Day, shark moms are being celebrated too.
Ocearch, a marine life research organization with ties to Jacksonville, posted a Mother's Day message on its Twitter page celebrating shark moms.
"They're the true queens of the ocean who are essential to ensuring the future of the species and the oceans as a whole," the tweet says.
The post was accompanied by a video explaining the impact of white sharks on the ocean's ecosystem, and the process of white shark egg hatching.
"White shark pups use their rows of teeth to break free from the egg capsules inside their mom's uterus before they're born, while other shark species lay egg capsules, then later hatch," the video says. It goes on to say that white shark mothers deliver an average of eight pups, each one measuring about five feet long and weighing around 45 pounds.
"We still have so much more to learn about these mysterious creatures, and one area we know the least about is shark reproduction," the video says. "We are on a mission to understand where the sharks mate, where they give birth and how we can best protect the sharks' nurseries."
Ocearch says sharks are the balance keepers of the oceans' ecosystems, and a healthy ocean requires a healthy population of sharks.
"Together we are learning more with every expedition, so we can give these apex animals the best chance to survive and help our oceans thrive," the video says.
Ocearch announced in May 2019 the construction of a base in the Mayport area with a flow-through system to bring in smaller, local sharks as part of an interactive exhibit as part of a public-private partnership with the city. The project was estimated to take about two years.