A non-profit organization founded by expedition leader Chris Fischer, the Ocearch mission is collaborative research that revolves around the study of the migratory and breeding patterns of the "Apex Predators" of the world's oceans, the Great White shark. Sharks are in serious jeopardy as sport and commercial fishing have become a threat to their population. The project grew out of the History Channel's reality show "Shark Wranglers." When the show was cancelled, the members of the crew felt that the data they had compiled was better served being shared rather than used as a means to secure funding. In what was thought to be a last hurrah at an undertaking out of Cape Cod, the team opened their methodology to every outlet willing to take advantage of joining them in the expedition. This resulted in a blast of publicity that brought in corporate sponsors and partners who felt the initiative was too valuable to lose. Now fully funded, Osearch expeditions literally hoist great white sharks out of the ocean, give the scientists onboard a hurried number of minutes to examine the animals and take blood samples before the crew applies a battery powered tag and safely releases the shark back into the water. The tag tracks the shark's subsequent movements while providing data via satellite. This information is invaluable in the effort to help foster a global understanding of just how important sharks are to the already fragile ecosystem in our oceans. Ocearch data is "open-sourced" by way of their very cool interactive website which features an educational tab for students and educators as well as the "Shark Tracker" - a feature where anyone can log on and track one of the over 30 sharks, each one affectionately named, tagged and released by the highly skilled crew in near real-time.

#InTheLab had Ocearch founder Chris Fischer join us recently in our studio where he shared some in-depth and entertaining insights of his own personal journey and the story of how a reality show transformed into a global initiative to protect one of the planet's great natural resources...