![]() ![]() ![]() Massachusetts followed suit in 2005, prohibiting capture between shore and three miles out. government designated them as a “prohibited species” in 1997, making it illegal to catch the sharks between three and 200 nautical miles out to sea. Seals are a favorite fat-rich prey for white sharks as the fish make their annual northern migration. The sharks were likely drawn to them by scent trails. By one estimate, more than 30,000 seals were on the cape by 2017. With no natural predators and plenty of fish to eat, the seals thrived. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 made it safe for the seals to return from Canadian waters, but they didn’t establish pupping colonies until the early 1990s. The seals had been extirpated from New England by the early 1960s, largely a result of culling by commercial fishers. Sharks are convening on the cape because the gray seal population there is rebounding, experts say. A 15-foot female white shark hunts at the edge of a surf break along Cape Cod’s popular Coast Guard Beach in Eastham, Mass. Credit: Pamela King “Understanding shark population trends, movement and behavior is crucial for shark safety and conservation,” says Alison Kock, a marine biologist for the South African National Parks, who visited Cape Cod in 2016. The shark conservancy brought in white shark experts from other parts of the world to advise the safety planners. An iPhone app called Sharktivity gives the latest sightings. National beach cape cod how to#A working group convened by Reynolds that included municipal beach safety directors, along with representatives of the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries and The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, has implemented safety measures such as new beach signs, a flag warning system, training on how to stop a victim’s bleeding, and public outreach and education about shark threats. Although there have been no attacks since then, the danger is ever present. Two incidents followed, including a fatal encounter in 2018. Leslie Reynolds, deputy superintendent for the organization, says 2012 was the first time a shark injured a person along this beachfront area. The sharks hunt in the swells along some 40 miles of beachfront managed by the Cape Cod National Seashore. The public safety implications are obvious. The sharks are most concentrated by Massachusetts during June through October-the same time of year when more than three million vacationers regularly flock to the cape. Cape Cod joins established hotspots in South Africa, central California, Mexico’s Guadalupe Island and Australia’s Neptune Islands. Renowned shark expert Greg Skomal, who has studied white sharks off the coast of New England since the early 1980s, says he didn’t encounter one anywhere near Cape Cod until 2004 and didn’t tag his first one there until 2009.Ī new study shows that this peninsula’s eastern shoreline now hosts one of the largest seasonal white shark gatherings in the world and is the first such hotspot documented in the North Atlantic. The upsurge over the past decade has caught just about everyone by surprise, including marine scientists. Once rare in this area, great white sharks-hundreds of them-are hunting in the shallow waters along the beaches of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Because beachgoers don't have to traverse steep dunes to get to the beach, Head of the Meadow is easier to access than the other beaches for the elderly or handicapped.They’re here. ![]() Among the more remote National Seashore beaches, this spot (equipped with rest rooms) is known for its excellent surf. Head of the Meadow Beach, off Head of the Meadow Road, Truro. The bluffs are so high at this National Seashore property that the beach lies in shadows by late afternoon. Marconi Beach, off Marconi Beach Road in South Wellfleet. National beach cape cod free#Connected to outlying parking lots by a free shuttle, these pristine National Seashore beaches have lifeguards and rest rooms. Seashore beaches include:Ĭoast Guard Beach and Nauset Light Beach, off Ocean View Drive, Eastham. Don't forget your beach umbrella the sun exposure here can get intense. If the beach you want to go to is full, try the one next door-most of the beaches are 5 to 10 miles apart. Most of the Seashore beaches have large parking lots, but you'll need to get there early (before 10am) on busy summer weekends to claim a spot. A $20 pass will get you into all of them for the season, or you can pay a daily rate of $7. This is the Atlantic Ocean, so the surf is rough (and cold), but a number of the beaches have lifeguards. The Seashore's claim to fame is its spectacular beaches-in reality, one long beach-with dunes 50 to 150 feet high. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |