Bosnians Assess Health of Sharks in the World's Largest Aquarium SeaLife in Istanbul

Bosnian-Herzegovinian shark expert Andrej Gajić and his friend Dino Begić worked on analyzing the health condition of sharks and rays in the world's largest aquarium SeaLife in Istanbul, with support from colleagues from several other countries.

Gajić and Begić, who are part of the international shark protection society Sharklab International from Malta (EU), told the news agency Patria that this is a great recognition for Bosnia and Herzegovina and its experts, considering that the world's largest aquarium has shown them such great trust.

SeaLife in Istanbul is visited annually by millions of tourists, who enjoy sharks, rays, and other marine animals. In addition to Istanbul, they have aquariums in other cities around the world.

- SeaLife strives to ensure their artificial habitats are very similar to the natural ones where marine organisms live. Therefore, experts have an obligation to constantly monitor the health condition of marine organisms in order to detect any potential disease in time – said Gajić for NAP, adding that at SeaLife they monitored animal behavior, dived with large sharks, and collected discarded dental samples.

Gajić: Studying sharks in aquariums and their direct relationship with humans during interactions and feeding is of exceptional importance

In addition to Istanbul, Gajić and the team conducted research and filming of the diversity of the Aegean Sea at the site İbrice Köyü İbrice Liman Keşan. The expedition ended with a voyage along the Sea of Marmara.

Gajić explains to NAP that a certain number of shark species are on the brink of extinction and that their conservation is crucial for maintaining a stable balance in marine ecosystems. Aquariums like SeaLife therefore play a major role in the conservation of sharks and other marine animals.

- In addition to the educational purpose for the general public, many aquariums around the world have a revitalization program for certain marine animals as part of their regular activities, and adequate keeping of such animals in captivity is of great importance – says Gajić. He adds that when it comes to sharks, most of them are extremely complex to keep in captivity because the artificial habitat needs to be almost completely optimized to the natural habitat, but also provide interaction with other organisms, which is sometimes not so simple, writes Patria.