Wanted: 10 sand tiger sharks for the Ripley’s Aquarium at the CN Tower

Now that construction is well underway on the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada at the base of the CN Tower, it’s time for step two: sharks. According to a recent article in the Toronto Star (which just happened to be timed for the start of Shark Week), the hunt has already begun for 10 sand tiger sharks, whose tank will form the centrepiece of the $130-million tourist extravaganza owned by Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison. The shark-catching process involves circular hooks designed to prevent the animals from getting hurt, a 1.5-kilometre fishing line baited with frozen mackerel and an on-boat tank whose water is pumped with oxygen to keep the sharks calm. They will spend a couple of months at the Ripley’s aquarium in South Carolina and a few more at a secret New York facility until spring 2013 when they will be driven to Toronto to make their debut (and to show the Toronto Zoo that cross-border animal transfers don’t have to be difficult). [Toronto Star]