Bear in mind to be shark good as you cool off on the seaside this vacation week.
As Cape Cod guests flock to the shore for the Fourth of July, shark sightings are anticipated to select up.
“We have had so many seal predations in recent weeks, but few sightings of great whites so far this year,” native shark knowledgeable John Chisholm advised the Herald.
“With more people out on the water and more beachgoers for the Fourth, that’s when the shark sightings should pick up,” added Chisholm, who confirms shark sightings throughout the area.
Nice white sharks in latest summers have come right here to hunt for seals, feeding on the prey in shallow water near shore. Whereas white shark bites on people are uncommon, they’ve occurred off the Cape — with the newest chew, in 2018, leading to a person’s demise.
Some shark security suggestions for these heading to the seaside embrace: staying near shore, avoiding areas the place seals are current, staying away from faculties of fish, avoiding murky water, limiting splashing, and adhering to flag warnings at seashores.
Beachgoers also can comply with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity monitoring app, which has shark sightings from across the area. Shark alerts are issued when a white shark is confirmed near a public seaside.
Lots of the shark sightings on the Sharktivity app within the final month have been of deal seals that had been bitten by the apex predators, however some white sharks had been noticed in latest days.
“12’+ great white shark killed seal,” a spotter reported alongside the Outer Cape off Eastham, not removed from Nauset Seashore.
“8′ white shark reported by paddle boarder,” reads a sighting report from Provincetown Harbor.
“12′ white shark spotted by fishermen,” reads one other sighting report off Wellfleet’s Jeremy Level.
In the meantime, the favored Sharktivity app lately had an replace that ought to make it less complicated for individuals to report sightings. Folks also can now see a shark’s full monitor over 1000’s of miles.
“I really enjoy the new streamlined sighting reporting flow,” mentioned Tucker MacDonald, the developer who labored on the app updates. “We hope it makes it easier for residents to report sightings and attach photos.”
The sighting replace contains the precise location and time for when the particular person noticed a shark.
“It makes vetting a lot easier,” MacDonald mentioned.
The up to date app additionally has a chart breakdown of sightings from the final week, month and yr.
There’s a number of academic materials on the app, as nicely, about white sharks off the Cape and human encounters.
“White sharks aren’t out to get you,” the app reads. “People are not on a shark’s menu. If they were, the number of encounters between sharks and people would be much higher.”
Shark bites on people occur resulting from mistaken id, as sharks can misperceive an individual as a marine mammal. Sharks are additionally curious.
“Sharks use their teeth much like a dog uses its nose, looking to gather information about what comes across their path,” the app reads. “Defensive reaction: It may seem counterintuitive but, while sharks often evoke a sense of fear in people, they are capable of being afraid, especially if they are startled by a person.”
