With nice white sharks again chomping on seals off the Cape, shark researchers are urging beachgoers and other people out on the water to report apex predator sightings and to pay attention to their environment forward of Memorial Day weekend.
The first confirmed white shark sighting of the season was reported over the weekend, when a 12-foot white shark was noticed devouring a seal off of Provincetown.
This is the time of 12 months when white sharks return to the waters off of Massachusetts, the place the animals hunt seals into the autumn months. With Memorial Day weekend arising, New England Aquarium scientists on Monday reminded individuals to be “Shark Smart.”
“Though white shark bites on humans are rare, the sighting serves as a reminder to beachgoers and boaters to be mindful of the presence of these ocean animals,” stated John Chisholm, adjunct scientist within the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life.
“It’s important to be aware of sharks’ presence in shallow waters, to avoid areas where seals are present or schools of fish are visible, and to stay close to shore where rescuers can reach you if needed,” he added.
As a part of the partnership between the New England Aquarium and Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, Chisholm serves because the citizen science coordinator for the Conservancy — documenting accounts of shark-seal interactions and verifying shark sighting studies made by the general public by the Sharktivity app.
Sharktivity supplies data and push notifications on white shark sightings, detections, and actions to boost consciousness about sharks’ places alongside the coast. Researchers, security officers, and others add images and movies of sharks, crowdsourcing information on the place sharks are noticed.
“There is a real public concern around beach safety, and we recognize the need to respond to that,” stated Nick Whitney, senior scientist on the Aquarium and chair of the Anderson Cabot Center’s Fisheries Science and Emerging Technologies program.
“That’s why we’re excited to continue this partnership with the Conservancy to help provide accurate, timely information on shark sightings in the region,” Whitney added.
The New England Aquarium has a crew of 9 scientists who research shark species, from porbeagles and nurse sharks to sandbar and sand tiger sharks. Many shark species reside in Massachusetts waters.
Aquarium researchers’ work focuses on monitoring these animals utilizing progressive tagging applied sciences — together with satellite tv for pc, acoustic, accelerometer, and digital camera tags to trace the sharks’ habitat use, life historical past, and impacts of bycatch throughout business and leisure fishing actions.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”