Ferndale Grad Swims With the Sharks ... Literally

Figuratively speaking, “swimming with the sharks" usually has something to do with the bad guys. But for 20-year-old Mariah Pfleger, a 2008 graduate, that phrase has a more literal meaning.

Pfleger is studying marine biology at Florida State University in Tallahassee, a passion she has had all her life. And that's where she's swimming with the sharks.

It’s a dream come true for her to have hands-on experiences with sharks while she learns more about how they live, she said. A conservationist at heart, her undergraduate honors thesis is on habitat use of sharks and stingrays in the lagoons of Virginia.

“If we can identify the types of habitat that are most used by sharks and stingrays in this ecosystem,” she said, “then those should be the ones we work hardest to preserve.” 

Last summer, Pfleger spent four weeks in the Gulf of Mexico long-lining for sharks. Long-lining is putting a fishing line almost a mile long into the water with a baited hook every 20 meters to catch sharks. Workers such as herself then measured, tagged and released the sharks.

Though some people might be fearful of actually catching sharks, Pfleger is not one of them.

“The coolest things I’ve seen include an 8-foot nurse shark, many bull sharks over 6 feet long, a couple very large lemon sharks and — my personal favorite — a 7-foot-long great hammerhead," she said.

She’s also cataloging marine sponges so that scientists can better understand the impact of disasters such as oil spills.

Pfleger plans to pursue conservation biology for sharks and stingrays after she graduates. But what inspires her fascination with these creatures?

“They are the top predators in many of the ocean ecosystems,” she said. “They’re actively hunted creatures, and it takes a very long time for these populations to grow back, especially if we’re fishing them unsustainably.

"Without these predators, the entire ocean ecosystem would collapse," she said. "We have a lot to lose if these organisms are gone.”

Linda Murley, retired FHS theater teacher, remembers Pfleger well. “There was no nonsense about her when a job needed to be done," Murley said. "She put forth her best effort and always wanted to learn and be the best she could be, onstage or off. “

Pfleger’s interest in science — and particularly marine biology — started in middle school. science teacher Alan Wilcox recalled that Pfleger was one of his best students.

“Whenever the subject of animals came up, Mariah was super-engaged," he said. "It was easy to see how concerned she was for the creatures we share our Earth with and how personally committed she was to making the world a better place for them.”

Pfleger took as many science classes as possible and credits Ferndale schools with helping her get where she is today. “I truly feel that I would not be where I am right now without the great teachers I had at Ferndale,” she said.

Ferndale science teacher Alison Maes also recognized Pfleger’s passion and abilities. Maes helped Pfleger take advanced placement biology in her senior year as an independent study after realizing that Pfleger could not fit the class into her schedule.

“Mariah and I met before school,” said Maes. “Before class, we would go over the topics together and work on dissections. It is exciting to know that she is continuing her studies in biology and that one day, she will be contributing to those topics that I teach.”

Pfleger plans to defend the sharks' continued existence. Murley summed it up well: “She might be tiny in stature, but she is big in heart, effort and determination.”

Check out Pfleger’s blog about her summer project working with sharks.