Shark Week 2020 | 'Wicked Sharks': As Cape Cod's great white presence rises, here's how you can stay safe
Steven Spielberg may have done a lot of harm to sharks with his movie, 'Jaws', which after its release in 1975, instilled a deep fear of the ocean predators to millions worldwide and may have catapulted people to hunt for sharks en masse. While sharks are an endangered species, there are reports of a higher number of sharks — especially off the coasts of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
As part of Discovery Channel's Shark Week programming for this year, 'Wicked Sharks' follows Massachusetts shark expert Dr Greg Skomal as he uses cutting-edge tech to capture the great white shark’s point-of-view to reveal exactly how and where they hunt in the summer to better protect the public. Skomal works as a senior biologist with the Division of Marine Fisheries.
In recent years, Cape Cod has seen a rise in numbers in the great white shark population of its coast, leading to a rise in the number of shark attacks on humans. Before 2018, the last recorded fatal shark attack was in 1936. In 2018, 26-year-old Arthur Medici, a native of Brazil, was killed at Wellfleet’s Newcomb Hollow Beach while boogie boarding.
There may be a few theories as to why shark numbers are found to be increasing in areas like Cape Cod which is now considered to be an epicenter for great white sharks. One reason is that since the fatal shark attack in 2018, scientists like Skomal are paying greater attention to their numbers and tagging great white sharks to study their behavior. The shark population could also be increasing because of a resurgence of the seal population in the region.
After being hunted to the brink of extinction, seals became federally protected by the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the population quickly recovered and expanded. As the seals have migrated further north on the Eastern Seaboard, the sharks have followed. Of course, one reason for the migration of seals — and therefore sharks — more to the north from the tropical regions is climate change. As global warming continues, the average sea temperatures continue to rise, making previously colder waters comfortable habitats for these ocean creatures.
'Wicked Sharks' focuses on Skomal's team's study of how and why great white sharks attack seals — so as to better prepare for public safety. For this, they focus especially on how great white sharks attack in shallow waters. They found that sharks swim through one side of sandbars — which are submerged or partly exposed ridge of sand or coarse sediment that is built by waves offshore from a beach — as they prepare to make their attacks so that any likely prey won't see the sharks.
When it reaches the shore, the shark speeds up and launches its attack on the prey in a "bold, swift, second," according to Skomal. The prey are usually seals who rest on the sandbars or in the shallow waters beside it. The sharks are also well hidden by the turbidity of shallow waters. Skomal says that this means that beachgoers have to be wary of going into deep waters close to shore.
'Wicked Sharks' airs on Discovery Channel on August 15 at 9/8c.