''Sharkrunners'' season 1 was a game created by area/code for the Discovery Channel as part of the channel's 20th year of ''

Shark Week Shark Week is an annual, week long TV programming block at the Discovery Channel, which features shark-based programming. Shark Week originally premiered on July 17, 1988. Featured annually, in July or early August, it was originally devoted to c ...

''. The game used satellite tracking of six

great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocean ...

s off the coast of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Users were able to take control of research vessels to gather, in real-time, information on the sharks, while trying to earn funding. ''Sharkrunners'' season 2 used satellite tracking of ten

tiger shark The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of requiem shark and the last extant member of the family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large macropredator, capable of attaining a length over . Populations are found in many tropical and tempera ...

s and ten

grey reef shark The grey reef shark (''Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos'', sometimes misspelled ''amblyrhynchus'' or ''amblyrhinchos'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae. One of the most common reef sharks in the Indo-Pacific, it is found as ...

s off the northern coast of

Queensland, Australia ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. ''Sharkrunners'' was removed from Discovery Channel online in July 2011.

Institutions

When creating a character, the player is given the choice of three institutions to join: :- The International Marine Observation Project (I.M.O.P.): a high-tech research institute run by no-nonsense marine scientists looking for hard data :- The Piermont Group: a media-savvy philanthropic organization that is interested equally in scientific data and dramatic images :- Friends of the Ichtheological Nation (FIN): a hard-core ecological activist group devoted to protecting and preserving sharks at any cost

Sharks

Season 1 default names are given, in addition to their code numbers, for the six sharks in the game, though the player may rename them . They are as follows: Season 2 default names for tiger sharks' are given, in addition to their code numbers, to the ten sharks currently in the game, though the player may rename them. They are as follows: - Lola has become unable to be tracked due to loss of tag or the tag has stopped transferring data.
- Rainebow2 has become unable to be tracked due to loss of tag or the tag has stopped transferring data.
- On 8/5/08, Lola and Rainebow2's data was recovered. They are able to be tracked once again.
- Since 1/3/09, Lola has become unable to be tracked due to loss of tag or the tag has stopped transferring data.
-On 1/12/09, Lola's data was recovered. They are able to be tracked once again. Season 2 default names for grey reef sharks' are given, in addition to their code numbers, to the ten sharks currently in the game, though the player may rename them. They are as follows:

Encounters

Danger levels: very high (VH), high (H), medium (M), low (L), very low (VL)
Data quality levels: very high (VH), high (H), medium (M), low (L), very low (VL)
Observation types: (HA) habitat and environment, (HE) health and biology, (SE) senses and perception, (AG) aggression v. humans, (RE) reproductive, (SO) social, (FE) feeding and hunting In season 2, the seal decoy is replaced with a turtle decoy, and the attached camera has been replaced by the "SharkCam".

Ports

Season 1
Other than name and location, all three ports are identical except for crew candidates available for hiring. They offer four main services: selling gas, boat upgrades, equipment, and crew for hire. The ports from north to south are: *

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

Season 2 *

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

Bamaga Bamaga ( , ) is a small town and locality about from the northern tip of Cape York in the north of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Northern Peninsula Area Region. It is one of the northernmost settlements in continental Australia and i ...

* Lakefield Bonus location - achieve research rank level of 10 in the Sharkrunners HQ page * Hamamas Beach Port

Accomplishments

Season 1 Season 2 Additionally, research accomplishments can be made, some of which can assist in the completion of The Good Life goal for ''Sharkrunners'' season 2. Research projects can be initiated on a player's Sharkrunners HQ profile and will result in 450 - 950 (?) research points per goal reached. The ultimate goal is 105,000 points to accomplish the level 20 research requirement in order to have a gold border around an individual player's flag.

Equipment

Boats

There are four boats in the game. Each can have an engine refit (increases both cruising and top speed by 10%) and upgraded fuel tanks (increases fuel capacity by 20%).

Equipment

Specialists

Season 2
These are the seven specialist needed for the Nerd Patrol Achievement {, border="2" style="text-align:left" , ! Name !! Data bonus !! Specialty !! Location , - , Willie , HA , Ecologist ,

, - , Debby , HE , Veterinarian , Port Moresby , - , Monica , SE , Chemist ,

, - , Paul , AG , Wrangler , Port Moresby , - , Eve , RE , Geneticist , Lakefield , - , Lilly , SO , Psychologist , Lakefield , - , Victoria , FE , Dietician , Bamaga

External links

Fan site

Website of area/code
the game's creators Discovery Channel original programming