After a difficult shark analysis season due to nasty stormy climate, Cape Cod nice white shark researchers not too long ago loved a busy stretch on the water.
The shark scientists with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries efficiently tagged eight nice whites off the Cape on Wednesday and Thursday.
While beachgoers are few and much between after Labor Day, many sharks proceed to stay across the Cape as they hunt for seals all through the autumn.
“October is usually a pretty busy month for us,” Megan Winton, analysis scientist on the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, advised the Herald on Friday. “This season has been robust for us weather-wise, with the dangerous climate stirring up the water. Every weekend a storm was rolling by.
“The water finally cleared up this week,” she added. “We finally had some calm days, so it was very workable out there, and we got a lot done.”
Great whites had been seen near shore off of Chatham and Orleans earlier this week. According to the Sharktivity app, a shark was noticed about 20 yards from the Orleans shoreline, and a shark was seen about 50 yards offshore from Chatham’s Monomoy Island.
October has been the third busiest month for shark exercise alongside the Cape lately, based on the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Logbook with shark detection information.
“A shark tagging update! @GregSkomal of the @MassDMF working with the AWSC tagged 5 white shark yesterday (10/18) and 3 white sharks today (10/19)! We are loving Sharktober!” the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy tweeted, together with a photograph of a shark off of Chatham.
The scientists aren’t but certain whether or not they’ve come throughout these particular person sharks earlier than. The researchers might be sifting by video footage to see if these sharks are already of their white shark catalogue of greater than 600 apex predators.
The researchers are in a position to determine the sharks primarily based on their distinctive markings.
“The notching patterns are unique to every shark, so we’ll go through the footage and compare it to the over 600 white sharks we’ve documented since 2014,” Winton stated.
On a latest analysis journey, the crew once more got here throughout the 8-foot male shark named Quasimodo.
“Instantly recognizable for his abnormal curved back due to scoliosis, Quasimodo was first identified off Cape Cod in 2018,” the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy tweeted.
“In 2021, he came back to the Cape with an unknown injury to his right pelvic region which has since healed slightly,” AWSC added. “While Quasimodo is not tagged, we are certainly impressed with this shark’s ability to travel, feed, and continue to survive and make occasional visits to Cape Cod.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”