YOUTH MOVEMENT IS EYED IN SHARK SPIKE
Targeting fishermen’s catches
As another beach season draws to a close on Cape Cod, researchers are trying to figure out what’s driving the increase in shark sightings and encounters — including the state’s first attack on a human since 2012.
One prominent researcher suggests the presence of younger and smaller great white sharks this summer could be playing a role.
Greg Skomal, a state marine biologist leading a fiveyear study wrapping up this year, says his team spotted 149 great whites off Cape Cod in July, more than double the 74 observed last July and up from 120 in 2016.
He said somewhat smaller great whites — measuring about 8 to 10 feet — appeared to make up a greater number of the sharks observed than in year’s past, though he said his team is still analyzing the data.
Skomal suggested more younger sharks could be contributing to the encounters that are increasingly being captured in viral photos and videos, particularly those of sharks snatching fish off anglers’ hooks.
Smaller sharks, he said, tend to prefer large fish such as striped bass prized by recreational fishermen, while larger adult sharks measuring up to 15 feet typically hunt seals.
“Cape Cod may represent a productive feeding ground not just for mature white sharks, but also for juveniles,” Skomal said. “It’s something we’ll certainly be watching out for.”
The presence of younger white sharks in Massachusetts waters isn’t totally unheard of.
The waters between Cape Cod and New Jersey have long been considered a regional white shark “nursery” where great whites spend the first years of their life before gradually expanding their territorial reach.
But more frequent spottings of juvenile sharks could suggest a broader recovery for Atlantic white shark populations, a phenomenon that’s already been documented on the U.S. West Coast, said George Burgess, director emeritus of the International Shark Attack File, a database maintained at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.
“If anything, it’s indicative of a healthy population,” Skomal said. “As the white shark rebounds across the East Coast, we should be seeing a broader range of sizes.”
Juvenile sharks could also simply be following their favored prey as they move into areas they’re not typically found, said Tobey Curtis, a shark researcher at the National Marine Fisheries Service in Gloucester. The sharks tend to feast on bluefish, menhaden, dogfish and skates.