Mark Skomal, biologist and senior scientist at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, focused on the recent explosion in the great white shark population off the coast of Cape Cod during a recent presentation at the Harvard Museum of Science & Culture.
Skomal, who has been tagging and tracking sharks in the area for the last 10 years, points to the rebound of the local grey seal population as the biggest factor in the increase of great whites.
“White sharks were also not only rebounding but redistributing themselves to near coastal areas” Skomal said, “And we felt that that was very highly correlated with the fact that seals were coming back.”
Since added protections were put in place in 1997, the grey seal population has been estimated to be over 30,000 in the Cape alone. The increase in prey led to an increase in sharks, which brings more of the apex predator into proximity with humans. Last year, there were two unprovoked attacks — one of them fatal — in the Cape.
Skomal suggests that humans changing their behavior in how and when they use the marine resources might be the only effective way of preventing future incidents.
“If we can have some kind of forecast as to when these sharks are likely to be in certain areas, then I think that that at least gives some beach managers information that they can work with,” he said.