Video from James Sulikowki’s previous appearance on Discovery’s “Shark Week.”
For the second year in a row, a Maine researcher has landed himself on the Discovery channel’s “Shark Week.”
James Sulikowski, a professor of marine science at the University of New England in Biddeford, will be seen searching the Gulf of Maine for the rare porbeagle shark in a Discovery special titled “Shark Vortex” on July 24 at 8 p.m. during the network’s annual “Shark Week.”
“It’s really an awesome shark, and unique to this area. There aren’t any on the West Coast,” said Sulikowski, 48. “It was amazing to be part of (the filming), to be able to let people know how special our area is.”
“Shark Week,” the cable network’s unique weeklong celebration of sharks, has been airing since 1988.
Sulikowski was also featured on the “Tiger Beach” episode of “Shark Week” in 2016, focusing on tiger sharks. He was asked to be a part of that project because he collaborates with a researcher who specializes in tiger sharks.
From that 2016 episode, producers learned of Sulikowski’s work researching the porbeagle species of shark, which is found in the Gulf of Maine. Sulikowski spent about nine days filming the upcoming episode, in waters off southern Maine and at UNE, he said. He and his work will be featured on about a third of the one-hour episode, which will also feature researchers working on mako and great white sharks. Sulikowski says the porbeable is about 10-11 feet long, fast, predatory and closely-related to great white sharks.
Shows during “Shark Week” are known for their suspense, so Sulikowski said he couldn’t reveal exactly what will be seen on the episode.
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