01
SHOGUN
Led by Prof. Barbara Block, the bluefin tuna team at Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station - joined by legendary postdocs, long-time technicians, and 30 passionate fishing enthusiasts, headed offshore from San Diego past the Channel Islands. Using rod and reel, we caught, tagged, and released bluefin tuna with archival and MiniPAT tags, continuing a 30-year effort to track their epic migrations to Japan and back.
02
FISHIN' FRENZY
We set off from Cape Hatteras aboard 'Fishin' Frenzy,' hosted by veteran anglers featured on 'Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks.' We tagged Atlantic bluefin tuna with MiniPAT tags, advancing vital research into their migrations from the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean spawning grounds to foraging habitats in the North Atlantic Ocean.
03
BLUE SERENGETI
In our own front yard at Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station, the Block Lab heads offshore aboard the Blue Serengeti. We tag and track the long-term migrations of large pelagic predators in Monterey Bay, focusing on how their movements may be shaped by upcoming coastal infrastructure development.
04
EAST MED BLUEFIN TUNA
The Block Lab tagging team from Stanford University - Dr. Eyal Bigal and Robbie Schallert - set out from Antalya, Turkey, alongside Turkish government agencies, MEDFRI, ICCAT/GBYP, Çukurova University, and Akua Group Fishing Company. By tagging bluefin tuna caught in purse seines with electronic and acoustic tags, we produced rare new insights from this data-deficient region.
05
SHARK SPA
Off the Israeli coast, our shark tagging programme, led by Dr. Aviad Scheinin and Prof. Dan Tchernov, and co-developed with Dr. Eyal Bigal as Lab Manager, has instrumented dozens of dusky and sandbar sharks with conventional, acoustic, and electronic tags, while also collecting biological samples and conducting ultrasound imaging. Together, these efforts are building the first long-term picture of shark ecology and health in the eastern Mediterranean.
06
ACCOBAMS SURVEY INITIATIVE
As part of the ACCOBAMS Survey Initiative, the Apex Predator Lab at the Morris Kahn Marine Research Station (MKMRS) participated in the first synoptic aerial survey of the entire Mediterranean. This landmark effort established baseline abundance estimates for marine mammals and other surface megafauna across the basin.
07
WILD, WILD EAST
Between 2017 and 2023, we carried out the first long-term electronic tagging effort of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the eastern Mediterranean. Working onboard longline vessels in Israel, we also sampled all landed catches - including large tunas, swordfish, sharks, and other highly migratory species - to model their distribution and habitat use within the EEZ.
08
COLD ROOM
We established the largest necropsy laboratory and tissue bank in the Mediterranean, dedicated to identifying pathogens in marine mammals and other large predators. This facility of the University of Haifa's Morris Kahn Marine Research Station (MKMRS) provides a critical foundation for understanding the dynamics of health and disease across the region’s wildlife.
09
HIGH & DRY
We partnered with Aviation Ltd to test the suitability of fixed-wing unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs; drones) as a novel platform for conventional cetacean surveys. By comparing drone-based observations with established methods, we evaluated their potential to refine abundance estimates of marine megafauna and to advance efficient, low-impact technologies in ecological research.
