DOWNTOWN — The Shedd Aquarium has a new shark expert just in time for Shark Week.
Steve Kessel started this month as director of Marine Research at the Shedd, 1200 S. Lake Shore Drive. That means it was too soon for him to plan this year's activities for Shark Week — a time when the Discovery Channel provides nonstop coverage of sharks — but he's excited by all the attention the event brings to his favorite subject.
A native of London, Kessel has traveled across the world studying marine life, but he's been particularly interested in sharks since he was a child.
"They are absolutely fascinating animals," Kessel said.
Though Kessel will oversee several research projects — including ones on grouper, queen conch and other species that are "economically important" to the Bahamas — his own work will focus on sharks in the area. The Bahamas are the "shark capital of the world," he said.
In fact, Kessel published a study this month that showed how a lemon shark in the Bahamas was able to push a large, metal fish stringer out of its body during a process that took more than a year. Photos from the study show the fish stringer being gradually forced out through the shark's skin — something that had never before been published.
The fish string was eventually completely forced out and the shark was seen to be healthy and "quite happy and fat," Kessel said.
The observation was "quite incredible," Kessel said. The research could mean sharks are able to "recover from considerable internal trauma," Kessel said, and potentially problematic surgery might be less necessary than experts thought when caring for sharks.
Kessel hopes the paper will mean other scientists will come forward and write about similar accounts, he said.
Such research is important to shark conservation, a key area in Kessel and the Shedd's work. He's in the Bahamas now to help with the queen conch research, and he'll return for a shark and rey research trip that begins Aug. 25. He noted a significant number of shark species are at risk of being critically endangered or extinct.
Shark populations have been "heavily depleted" as a result of human activity, like fishing and habitat loss, Kessel said.
"That's a very important issue facing sharks," Kessel said.
Kessel said Shark Week brings attention to his own work and the work done by everyone at the Shedd. It also raises awareness of sharks and helps educate people on the plights they face and conservation issues associated with them.
"Now the Shedd can engage people about the plight of sharks, make people passionate about sharks and [make them] advocates," Kessel said.
Kessel will give a public lecture at Jazzin' at the Shedd. The event runs 5-10 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Shedd Aquarium. Tickets are $20 and can be bought online. The event will feature music, snacks and cocktails.
