Based at the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology, the Shark Lab has a suite of facilities for conducting research both in the field and the lab – including research boats, flow-through seawater holding tanks, tidal seawater ponds, and a 3600 square foot main laboratory.
Research Boats
17′ Boston Whaler Alert with Honda 60hp outboard engine
22′ Boston Whaler Outrage with twin Yamaha 90hp outboard engines. Available for use from HIMB Marine Safety Office.
32′ Force Marine Research Vessel Opah with single inboard Cummins 6BTA 5.9 diesel engine and 530 gallon (2m³) portable transfer tank
Flow-Through Seawater Holding Tanks
Two 1,300 gallon (5m³) tanks
Two 2,900 gallon (11m³) tanks
33,200 gallon (125m³) tank
Tidal Seawater Ponds
26.5m × 36m large saltwater enclosure fenced inside the East Lagoon. This tidally flushed lagoon has a mean depth of 2m.
100m × 20m large saltwater enclosure fenced at both ends and open to surrounding seawater. This tidally flushed lagoon is characterized by a shallow (0.5m) shelf extending from the shore to a deep (3m) channel which runs the length of the lagoon.
10m × 20m fenced extension of large saltwater enclosure
Experimental Facilities
635L Brett-style recirculating flume with a 100cm × 40cm × 40cm swimming chamber
12,700 gallon (48 m³) tank surrounded by coil consisting of 100 turns of 18 AWG copper wire. Supplying power to the coil produces a vertical magnetic field inside the tank.
Shark Research Lab 