National Geographic

HOW TO SAVE A PREDATORany boat found selling or transporting shark parts inthe Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone.Now Cramp plans to insert satellite tags into thebacks of 28 sharks so she can follow their move-ments. Little is known about the region’s sharks.Cramp wants to find out where and how far they’retraveling—vital data for designing better protections.On the boat Cramp shows the teens the drill: howto attach a GoPro camera and bait stick to a devicethat will moor them to the ocean floor, how to logthe GPS coordinates so they can pull it up later. If ashark is drawn to the area by the bait, she explains,they’re going to hook the animal, rope it to the sideof the boat, cut a slit at the base of its dorsal fin, andslide in a satellite tag. The girls look horrified.“It sounds brutal, but it’s going to give us``````THEY ARE ON A BOAT DOCK, hands coated with theinnards of a yellowfin tuna, when Konini Rongoand Bella Smith learn that they live in one of theworld’s largest shark sanctuaries.The girls, both 17, are chopping up scraps nextto a row of fishing boats at a port on Rarotonga, thebiggest of the 15 Cook Islands. They volunteered tohelp American marine biologist Jessica Cramp placeunderwater cameras to spot sharks. But first comesthe messy task of making bait, as Cramp—whose workis supported by National Geographic and Rolex—tellsthem the story of the 484-million-acre protected area.In 2011 Cramp moved to the South Pacific islands,where the reefs teem with sharks, to help launch acampaign for the sanctuary. Eighteen months laterit was law, with a minimum $73,000 fine levied on``````BY NINA STROCHLIC PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDY MANN``````AFTER HELPING TO BAN THE SHARK TRADE IN THE COOK ISLANDS,JESSICA CRAMP WANTS TO KNOW: CAN A LAW PROTECT SHARKS?EXPLORE | FIELD NOTES