A female shark named "Ticka" sporting a valuable and complex satellite tag has shown up in the waters off Port Lincoln, Australia.
The 3.5-metre shark was tagged by the Fox Shark Research Foundation at Dangerous Reef on July 12 with a special archival, pop-up satellite tag.
Chief scientist with the foundation Rachel Powell said local contacts had informed her a shark with a "big, black box on its back" had been seen on several occasions in the bay.
The last sighting occurred on Monday when the shark allegedly swam near harvesting activities and a freezer boat at the tuna farms.
Powell said it was vital the shark was left alone to do its own thing. She estimated it would have only taken about a day for the shark to swim from the tagging location to where it was seen.
The 20-centimetre pop-up tag is scheduled to separate from the shark on November 30 when it will transmit, via satellite, various data such as where the shark swam as well as what temperatures and pressures it encountered on its journey.
The custom-made satellite tags were expensive at around $8000, but it was always a risk as to whether the devices succeeded.
The first tagging of a 4.5-metre male shark that was regularly seen at the Neptunes took place last year but the foundation never received the information from the tag, nor has the shark been seen.
The foundation is asking for anyone who sees Ticka to email rachel@sharkfoundation.com to help assist with their research.