Sharks plague New England swimmers
Story and photos by Dave Boitano
Tourists scan the ocean at the Cape Cod National Seashore looking for Great White Sharks, (top) warning flags tell swimmers that sharks are present and to stay out of the water, (bottom) and a video at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution shows a shark attacking an underwater drone.(middle)
A cold wind swept across the sands of the Cape Cod National Seashore as a pair of college-enrolled lifeguards kept watch on the waves hitting the beach.
Not the kind of day that would encourage beach goers to take a dip in the water or go Boogieboarding in the surf.
But the crowds were gone for a more sinister reason. The lifeguards' post was flying a red warning flag and a purple banner with the outline of one of the ocean’s top predators: the great white shark.
In what could only be termed a case of life imitating art, great whites have returned to the waters off the Cape, the scene of the hit movie “Jaws”.
In the film, based on the novel by writer Peter Benchley, a marauding shark kills bathers near Martha’s Vineyard, a popular tourist island.
The story became frighteningly real in September 2018 when a 26-year-old man, Arthur Medici, died after he was attacked while boogie boarding off Newcomb Hollow Beach..
Only weeks before, a swimmer was bitten off Truro Beach, but the victim survived by hitting the animal as it attacked his legs.
Medici’s death was the first shark fatality in the area since 1936.
There were no attacks on the Cape this summer because public safety crews took steps to warn and protect bathers.
If a shark was seen feeding nearby, lifeguards would raise the flags and evacuate the water until the animal left. Warning signs urging beach goers to “Be shark smart” were put up at all beaches
Swimmers had to get out of the surf several times this year and an annual charity swim was cancelled due to concerns about shark activity.
Beach goers can report great white sightings by logging onto the Sharktivity app created by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, a non-profit focused on educating the public about the fierce fish.
The information may be useful but cannot replace scientific methods of measuring shark populations according to Greg Skomal, senior fisheries scientist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
“If I put a plane in the air and count 20 sharks over six hours it’s hard to determine if that’s 20 individual sharks or the same four sharks seen five times each,” he said.
The great whites hunt the shallow beach waters in pursuit of their favorite meal, grey seals whose numbers have increased dramatically over the years after the seals became a protected species under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. passed in 1972. And given that some estimates place the number of Grey seals on the Cape at 50,000, the sharks will likely continue their summer visits for a long time.
Great whites are most active in New England waters between June and October and can be found in as little as six feet of water while pursuing their prey. During winter Great Whites migrate to warmer waters off the coast of South Carolina and the Gulf of Mexico.
Attacks on humans are rare and are often a case of mistaken identity; the shark assuming that a surfer or swimmer’s splashing contour is that of a seal. But the 2018 attacks convinced tourists and emergency crews to take precautions when sharks are lurking offshore, according to Skomal.
“The chances of being attacked are extremely low, but it doesn’t take many to alarm the general public,” he said.
Since 2009, Skomal and other Department of Marine Fisheries scientists have been conducting research into all aspects of great white behavior. To study the predator’s movements, they have used high tech tagging systems, including acoustic transmitters that register data with strategically-placed buoys when the fish swims by.
Working with engineers at nearby Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Skomal has traced tagged sharks using an autonomous underwater drone that follows the animal as it travels through deep water. A video in the institution’s visitor’s center shows a shark attacking the torpedo-shaped drone only to give up when it becomes obvious that he cannot eat it.
The device itself, complete with huge bite marks, is on display nearby.
That incident took place in clear deep waters off Guadalupe Island in Mexico. Skomal who had tagged the shark, said the animal was not biting because he was irritated at being followed by the device.
“We think it was predatory behavior,” he said.
Skomal and the fisheries department are ending a five-year study to determine the actual number of Great Whites that visit the Cape seasonally. They used a spotter plane to locate the sharks and relay their location to a waiting boat. Skomal and others would then photograph the animals using an underwater camera. By comparing the shark’s individual coloring patterns, the scientists could determine if this animal was a new visitor or had been to the cape before.
This procedure was admittedly time consuming and it will take a few months to analyze all the data. But the study is now more important than ever in light of the 2018 attacks, Skomal said.
“It really did step up the urgency not just with our research but within the public safety community,” he said. “It captured everyone’s attention. "
But perhaps there is a silver lining to the cloud surrounding the shark situation. Some visitors are visiting the seashore in hopes of seeing a great white from a safe distance. The predators should not be hard to find. Just look for the purple flag.
Not the kind of day that would encourage beach goers to take a dip in the water or go Boogieboarding in the surf.
But the crowds were gone for a more sinister reason. The lifeguards' post was flying a red warning flag and a purple banner with the outline of one of the ocean’s top predators: the great white shark.
In what could only be termed a case of life imitating art, great whites have returned to the waters off the Cape, the scene of the hit movie “Jaws”.
In the film, based on the novel by writer Peter Benchley, a marauding shark kills bathers near Martha’s Vineyard, a popular tourist island.
The story became frighteningly real in September 2018 when a 26-year-old man, Arthur Medici, died after he was attacked while boogie boarding off Newcomb Hollow Beach..
Only weeks before, a swimmer was bitten off Truro Beach, but the victim survived by hitting the animal as it attacked his legs.
Medici’s death was the first shark fatality in the area since 1936.
There were no attacks on the Cape this summer because public safety crews took steps to warn and protect bathers.
If a shark was seen feeding nearby, lifeguards would raise the flags and evacuate the water until the animal left. Warning signs urging beach goers to “Be shark smart” were put up at all beaches
Swimmers had to get out of the surf several times this year and an annual charity swim was cancelled due to concerns about shark activity.
Beach goers can report great white sightings by logging onto the Sharktivity app created by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, a non-profit focused on educating the public about the fierce fish.
The information may be useful but cannot replace scientific methods of measuring shark populations according to Greg Skomal, senior fisheries scientist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
“If I put a plane in the air and count 20 sharks over six hours it’s hard to determine if that’s 20 individual sharks or the same four sharks seen five times each,” he said.
The great whites hunt the shallow beach waters in pursuit of their favorite meal, grey seals whose numbers have increased dramatically over the years after the seals became a protected species under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. passed in 1972. And given that some estimates place the number of Grey seals on the Cape at 50,000, the sharks will likely continue their summer visits for a long time.
Great whites are most active in New England waters between June and October and can be found in as little as six feet of water while pursuing their prey. During winter Great Whites migrate to warmer waters off the coast of South Carolina and the Gulf of Mexico.
Attacks on humans are rare and are often a case of mistaken identity; the shark assuming that a surfer or swimmer’s splashing contour is that of a seal. But the 2018 attacks convinced tourists and emergency crews to take precautions when sharks are lurking offshore, according to Skomal.
“The chances of being attacked are extremely low, but it doesn’t take many to alarm the general public,” he said.
Since 2009, Skomal and other Department of Marine Fisheries scientists have been conducting research into all aspects of great white behavior. To study the predator’s movements, they have used high tech tagging systems, including acoustic transmitters that register data with strategically-placed buoys when the fish swims by.
Working with engineers at nearby Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Skomal has traced tagged sharks using an autonomous underwater drone that follows the animal as it travels through deep water. A video in the institution’s visitor’s center shows a shark attacking the torpedo-shaped drone only to give up when it becomes obvious that he cannot eat it.
The device itself, complete with huge bite marks, is on display nearby.
That incident took place in clear deep waters off Guadalupe Island in Mexico. Skomal who had tagged the shark, said the animal was not biting because he was irritated at being followed by the device.
“We think it was predatory behavior,” he said.
Skomal and the fisheries department are ending a five-year study to determine the actual number of Great Whites that visit the Cape seasonally. They used a spotter plane to locate the sharks and relay their location to a waiting boat. Skomal and others would then photograph the animals using an underwater camera. By comparing the shark’s individual coloring patterns, the scientists could determine if this animal was a new visitor or had been to the cape before.
This procedure was admittedly time consuming and it will take a few months to analyze all the data. But the study is now more important than ever in light of the 2018 attacks, Skomal said.
“It really did step up the urgency not just with our research but within the public safety community,” he said. “It captured everyone’s attention. "
But perhaps there is a silver lining to the cloud surrounding the shark situation. Some visitors are visiting the seashore in hopes of seeing a great white from a safe distance. The predators should not be hard to find. Just look for the purple flag.