A well-known local shark expert is once again getting some airtime for “Shark Week,” as the Cape Cod great white population fascinates people around the globe.
Shark biologist Greg Skomal, who’s with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and tags great whites along the Cape, is featured in a new “Shark Week” show that explores the migration of white sharks in the North Atlantic.
The show “Great White North” premieres on Discovery Wednesday night. The “Shark Week” show examines the growing great white population in Nova Scotia, and looks at whether Cape Cod white sharks are migrating hundreds of miles north.
“The great white shark population was overexploited along the Eastern Seaboard of North America,” Skomal says during the show. “Now, because protections have been put in place, more and more are coming back. And not all white sharks come to Cape Cod.
“We don’t think the white shark population on the Eastern Seaboard is fully restored yet,” he added. “A lot of animals may just stop by the rest stop and then keep moving on this migratory pathway, cross that border, and go into these rich productive areas and feast.”
Great white sharks hunt seals along the Cape, and also along Nova Scotia.
During the new show, researchers in Canada come across a great white that was tagged off the Cape.
“She’s one of ours,” Skomal said of the shark. “We tagged her back in 2021, right off of Cape Cod here. She’s about 9-feet long.”
Researchers in Canada after the expedition found that about 23% of the sharks were also seen around the Cape.
“The more I learn about white sharks here in the Atlantic, the more I see that this population is really coming back,” Skomal said. “It looks like one of the largest white shark populations in the world… It’s pretty exciting.”
Unveiling the mysteries of the deep 🦈
Watch Great White North Wednesday at 8p during #SharkWeek on @Discovery. pic.twitter.com/9br1h24SrV
— Shark Week (@SharkWeek) July 9, 2024
Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app had a “shark alert” for a great white close to shore.
“!! SHARK ALERT !! White shark spotted 150 yds off North Cut of Chatham Harbor,” posted MA Sharks, which is run by local shark biologist John Chisholm.
Shark alerts are issued when a white shark sighting is confirmed close to a public beach. A notification goes out with each alert.
