In recent news in Chatham, Massachusetts officials first reported sightings of great white sharks in the area early on Friday, Sept. 4th, 2009. The next day’s news confirmed the shutting down all of east-side facing beaches of Chatham for swimming as three great whites came within 75 yards of the coastline. Harbormaster patrols closely and monitor the area for sharks regularly. Beaches however will remain off-limits to swimmers till the middle of the week officials said.
(*Photo by- cdngrlnaomi on flickr)
Early Saturday a team of Cape Cod fishermen along with a state biologist, successfully tagged two of the great whites with tracking devices. This operation was the first successive great white shark tagging in Atlantic Ocean.
CNN News Reported:
“The taggings took place in the waters near Chatham, Massachusetts, two days after Greg Skomal, shark expert for the Division of Marine Fisheries, reported as many as five large sharks were seen near Monomoy Island, a National Wildlife Refuge off the southern elbow of Cape Cod. The island is about a mile away from Chatham’s Lighthouse Beach, a public swimming area.”
Tagging these sharks with satellite trackers better allows scientists to track the shark’s movements thus helping them understand their migratory patterns. Found near the coasts of California, Australia and South Africa, the Great White’s appearance near New England is relatively rare but not unheard of because of it’s seal colonies. Chatham does see other sharks species like makos, blue sharks and thresher sharks quite regularly because of the same.
So, while the big daddy of all sharks the Great White has taken residence off the Massachusetts shore, much to the inconvenience of beach swimmers, the tagging of the most feared predator of the sea’s is a boon to researchers who will hopefully gather some valuable data about these complex creatures which is a big step in learning more about them in the long run.
For the Best in Scuba Gear and Equipment right from Scuba regulators, Wetsuits, Buoyancy Compensators, Scuba Accessories, underwater camera housings and more visit LeisurePro.com- The Diver’s Emporium
