'Shark Men' has enough to hook viewers

The bar for shark documentaries is set high.

Footage of great whites, in particular, keeps getting more spectacular. Viewers have already seen the 2,000-pound predators launching themselves completely out of the water, divers venturing outside shark cages and even a daring researcher sitting on a floating whale carcass as great whites tear off pieces of blubber.

So, what can viewers expect this year?

Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" is the more established brand, but National Geographic Channel's "Shark Men" is a unique and worthwhile offering. The documentary follows a rugged but dedicated crew that doesn't just watch great whites — it brings them on board.

The second season kicks off with back-to-back episodes on Sunday, April 10, at 7 p.m.

The Shark Men use a brazen but established technique of hooking the massive sharks, elevating them on a hydraulic lift, taking samples, attaching a satellite tag and releasing. In previous episodes, the guys described as "shark wranglers" honed their skills hauling in the giant fish (great whites average 13-16 feet and 1,500-2,450 pounds) at Guadalupe Island in Mexico.

Their goal is to find clues about the life cycle of great whites.

The setting for the opening episodes of Season 2 is the Farallon Islands, a highly regulated marine sanctuary 28 miles off the coast of San Francisco.

They couldn't have chosen a better setting.

The Farallons deliver both fascination and foreboding. The water is cold, dark and packed with some of the largest great whites on earth — not to mention teeming with jellyfish. The area, which is off-limits to everyone except sanctuary staff and licensed researchers, was the subject of a 2006 book called "The Devil's Teeth," by Susan Casey. The islands themselves are actually jagged, barren rocks that eerily resemble teeth.

The team, which ventures into the frigid waters aboard the mother ship Ocean, is the first to permitted to "land" a great white and release it at the Farallons. It's billed as "the opportunity of a lifetime" for the Shark Men.

The crew, however, is nervous, and not just because of their frigid, ominous surroundings. The Shark Men's methods are under scrutiny from local researchers who feel their methods could harm the sharks. A marine sanctuary envoy accompanies the crew, adding to the tension.

"There's people who don't want us doing what we're doing," one of the crew members says.