SCIENTISTS will soon catch tiger sharks by the tail on the Great Barrier Reef in an effort to better understand the sharks' feeding behaviour.

Researchers from James Cook University have been studying tiger shark behaviour at Raine Island, 620km northwest of Cairns, for years as part of a long-term satellite tagging program.

While the program has allowed them to tell when and where sharks are present at the location, the scientists are now planning an intensive tagging study of both tiger sharks and sea turtles to better understand the movement patterns between the predators and their prey.

The study will involve planting and monitoring radio receivers around the island for two months during the turtle nesting season and attaching acoustic tags to sharks and turtles.

Whenever either the predator or prey is in range of a receiver, the scientists will be able to determine more precise feeding patterns of both species.

It is hoped at least 20 sharks and 20 turtles will be able to be tagged and tracked using the receivers.

"We, basically, want to see whether the movement patterns are matching the predator and prey," researcher Adam Barnett said.

Mr Barnett spoke about his Raine Island research work in a St Augustine's College class yesterday as part of the Austar for Schools program.

The team of researchers have captured their work on camera for documentaries screening on the Discovery Channel.

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