CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A local researcher at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is set to make her fifth appearance on Shark Week on the Discovery Channel on July 11.
Kesley Banks is a marine biologist at the Harte Research Institute who says that a fishing trip at age 5 is what inspired her career as a scientist.
As her episode of Shark Week nears its airing, she wants you to know just how important the animals are to marine ecosystems, despite misconceptions about how dangerous they are.
“If you enjoy eating seafood at all you want sharks in your ocean as the great balance-keepers and promoting sustainability for those populations.” Banks said in a press release.
This year will mark the eighth time that a researcher from Harte Reseach Institute has appeared on the popular program.
Banks will be highlighting some of the research being done at HRI on sharks who call the Gulf of Mexico home. Right now, she is working to tag sharks to learn more about their migration habits.
3NEWS spoke with her last March when a 14-ft. great white shark named 'LeeBeth' made a rare visit to the South Texas Coast.
“Shark Week is a great avenue to get research out of the lab and into people’s day-to-day conversations,” said Banks. “It gives people a chance to start digging deeper in shark science and seek answers to the questions they have – not only about sharks, but about having a healthy ocean general, from which we all benefit.”
Kesley will be featured in an episode called “Caught! When Sharks Attack”. It will be airing at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. CST on July 11 on Discovery. Check the Discovery website for additional information and airtimes for Shark Week shows.
To celebrate HRI’s and TAMU-CC’s involvement with Shark Week, the university is putting on an outstanding series of events throughout the week, including a live watch party. For details, you can check here: (17) Shark Week LIVE! Watch Party | Facebook
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