North Carolina Aquariums named finalist in global StoryMap competition for piece on sand tiger sharks in Graveyard of the Atlantic

Holly Doerr, North Carolina Aquariums shark research scientist and Clint Taylor, director, NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores take measurements of a sand tiger shark on the Atlantic coast (Photo courtesy North Carolina Aquariums)

By staff reports

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“Sharks in the Graveyard: Spotting Sand Tiger Sharks in the Northwest Atlantic,” a StoryMap created by the North Carolina Aquariums (NCA), is one of 33 finalists in the 2025 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition, a Tuesday press release from the North Carolina Aquariums announced.

North Carolina Aquariums—with locations at Fort Fisher, Pine Knoll Shores, Roanoke Island and Jennette’s Pier—is a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The “poignant journey of sharks in the Graveyard of the Atlantic” is among 33 finalists vying for the Community Choice Award, according to the release.

“The Graveyard of the Atlantic” is a name for the notoriously treacherous stretch of the Atlantic Ocean off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where numerous shipwrecks have occurred.

Holly Doerr, North Carolina Aquariums’ shark research scientist, and Dr. Carol Price, North Carolina Aquariums’ conservation research coordinator, partnered with Nancy Pham Ho of South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation to create the StoryMap, according to the release.

“It is an underwater journey along the North Carolina coast, where shipwrecks become shark hotpots,” according to the release. “The NCA StoryMap both draws attention to NCA sand tiger shark conservation and illustrates the critical nature of the NC coastal waters to their survival.”

Doerr said in the release, “This project was created in hopes of providing a narrative detailing some of our work, while showcasing the data in a way that is both accessible to broad audiences and interactive. Carol, Nancy and I hope that the community enjoys viewing it as much as we have enjoyed creating it.”

The competition is co-hosted by Esri’s ArcGIS StoryMaps and ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World teams. Over 450 storytellers from 55 countries submitted stories in 14 languages to the competition, according to the release.

From the 33 finalists, the global community has an opportunity to select its pick for the Community Choice Award. Voting is open until March 10 at 8 p.m. at ArcGIS Meet the Finalists.

Ross Donihue, ArcGIS Storytelling team lead, said in the release: “We are thrilled by the submissions we received for the 2025 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition. These selected finalists represent an outstanding subset of our global community’s work, celebrating the power of geospatial storytelling. Together, they inspire, educate, and inform by highlighting meaningful work underway in communities around the world.”

According to ArcGIS, the competition encouraged storytellers to elevate the challenges and solutions that mean the most to them using their two capabilities—ArcGIS StoryMaps and Living Atlas—in one of three categories: people, infrastructure and environment.

North Carolina Aquariums is competing as a professional entry in the environment category.

ArcGIS will announce winners in April 2026 on or around Earth Day, according to the release.

For more information about the North Carolina Aquariums, visit www.ncaquariums.com. For more information about the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, visit www.dncr.nc.gov.

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