With the recent increase inGreat White Shark sightings and taggings in New England, concerns have beenraised as to why there is an increase in shark activity.
By CarlyPorterAccuWeather.com
With the recent increase in Great WhiteShark sightings and taggings in NewEngland, concerns have been raised as to why there is an increase in sharkactivity.
Five Great White Sharks were identified in the last several days along beachesin Chatham, Mass., and many sources say there are more out there. However,shark activity in NewEngland this time of year is not unusual.
"Sharks have always been prominent here," said Tom Kane, a New England charterboat captain. "It's not unusual for us to catch 20-30 sharks a day."
Sightings of the great white, which can be more than 20 feet long and weighover 4,000 pounds, are nothing out of the ordinary, Kane said.
"I believe there are around 10-12 great whites in the Cape Cod vicinity rightnow," he said. "By plane and boat, the sharks become much more visible."
Because of the mystique, size and danger level associated with the great white,recent taggings by the Massachusetts Marine Services in Chatham have beenpublicized more than sightings for other types of sharks, such as the Mako andthe Porbeagle.
The tags will provide satellite trackings of the sharks, and information inlater months will be released involving the exact migration patterns of thesharks.
Kane said these sightings have occurred in shallower waters closer to thecoastline, and even more sharks could be farther out from land.
Krill Carson, president of the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance andproject manager for the New England Basking Shark Project, said that sharks aredefinitely out there, but many go unnoticed because they typically don't riseto the surface high enough to make their familiar dorsal fins seen.
"We just can't see them all the time," she said. "They only come to the surfacewhen they want to."
Great White Sharks have been spotted in areas of high Gray Seal populations,such as Chatham. Once the sharks reach 12 feet in length, their preferred foodis the Gray Seal rather than the primary diet of fish that smaller sharks feaston.
"There is a permanent population of gray seals in this region, and as the sealpopulation increases, so does the chance of predators," said Carson.
The rise in seal numbers can be in part related to their haul-out rates, andthe long-standing effects of the 1972 Maine Mammal Act that protected sealsfrom hunting.
Seals haul-out to shore in preferred weather conditions and use rock ledges andtemporary sandbars to give birth and nurse their young. Carson said the sharks,which feed on seal blubber, often follow their seal prey to shore.
Blue, Mako, Basking, and Great White are some of the most prevalent sharkspecies spotted off Cape Cod. Great whites are known for their ability towithstand cooler temperatures that often characterize New England waters duringthe early fall.
So will the sharks remain in the region through the change in season? Accordingto Kane, sharks can go a whole month between seal feedings, making it uncertainwhether they will leave the area for an extended period of time.
"If the seals remain, it is likely the sharks will remain," Kane said. "Thesharks can feed on the seals and then move to warmer waters for a few weeks andthen come back."
Michael Arthur, a professor of geosciences at the Pennsylvania StateUniversity, said that although sharks, great whites in particular, are moreprevalent in the NewEngland area, sharks do not pose a direct threat to humans.
"Most attacks occur because sharks have poor eyesight and mistake humans fortheir prey," he said.
Heba Issa and Gina Cherundolo contributed to the content of this story.
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