Sharks in the shallows ‘overlap’ with humans
“shallow” — where swimmers, surfers, boogie boarders and paddleboarders spend their time.
“Overall, the risk of a shark-human interaction is greatest during the summer and fall, when Cape Cod’s coastal waters provide suitable thermal habitat for white sharks and beach visitation rates peak,” the researchers wrote.
“Shallow records along the Outer Cape are likely to be indicative of a greater degree of potential shark-human overlap than in Cape Cod Bay,” the researchers stated, adding that’s likely because of higher seal densities along the Outer Cape.
Sharks were more likely to occupy shallow depths at night during the new moon. During the day, tagged sharks were more likely to be at shallow depths during the first and last quarter moon.
“Our results indicate that the potential for overlap may be slightly higher at night, when beach visitation rates are typically lowest, and during periods when local environmental conditions favor the species’ predatory stealth, which can occur at any time of day,” they wrote.
People at the beach should stay close to the shore and avoid being in the water at night and during periods of low ambient light levels, the researchers said.
However, they warned that white sharks patrol the shoreline for seals at all times of the day.
“White shark predations on seals near Cape Cod’s beaches have been observed under a wide range of conditions, which reflects the species’ opportunistic foraging strategy and suggests that the results of the current study should be interpreted with caution,” the researchers wrote.
“Although the overall risk posed to humans is low, recreational water users should assume white sharks are present along Cape Cod during the summer and fall, and proactively modify their behavior to reduce their encounter risk,” they added.
Since 2012, there have been four shark attacks along the Cape, including one fatal attack, the first in Massachusetts since 1936. Arthur Medici, 26, was killed while boogie-boarding at Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet.