Cape Cod great white shark researchers launch two more real-time sensors in Truro and Wellfleet
Two more real-time shark detectors are now in Cape Cod waters as the apex predators migrate north to find seals and other meals.
Cape shark researchers on Tuesday launched two more real-time acoustic sensors off of Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro and Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet.
The researchers from Massachusetts Marine Fisheries and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy have now deployed five of these real-time detectors to help beachgoers stay safe this summer.
As soon as a shark is detected near one of the buoys, it immediately alerts a network of public safety officials.
“This receiver will let those lifeguards at that stand know within seconds that a white shark is within several hundred meters of this receiver,” said shark scientist Greg Skomal with Massachusetts Marine Fisheries. “That information is being distributed immediately.”
After receiving a shark detection alert, lifeguards will temporarily shut down beaches to swimming — which has happened during the past couple of weekends along the Cape.
The lifeguards are “getting a sense of how frequently these animals are in the area, which is quite a bit of the time,” Skomal said.
In addition to the two real-time detectors deployed on Tuesday, the three others are at Lecount Hollow Beach in Wellfleet; Nauset Beach in Orleans; and North Beach in Chatham.
The shark detection information also goes straight to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app.
“If you have the app, you’ll be able to see when sharks were detected on those real-time receivers, as well as a list of which sharks were detected,” said Megan Winton, a research scientist at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.
For instance, Mr. Frisky — an 11-foot male shark — was detected at the Lecount Hollow Beach buoy around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Luke — a 13-foot male shark — was also detected at that buoy earlier in the morning.
Skomal and Winton both emphasized that not every shark along the Cape is tagged.
“We’re good, but we’re not that good,” Skomal said of their tagging abilities, adding that people should realize “there could be a shark in that area and you do not know it because it’s not tagged.”
Winton added, “We can’t tag every animal, but it paints a picture of what the broader population is doing.”
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3hddlmg
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