"We're going to need some more tags."
Posted on 10/26/2014 2:24:01 PM PDT by Capt. Tom
It is interesting. Thanks, Cap’n.
Thanks. I did not know their populations had rebounded nor that they were protected. State voters here in CA protected mountain lions some years ago and they are all over now. You can’t enter a county or state park without man lion warning signs. Humans are sure nice to let bears, wolves, lions, and sharks back on top of the food chain. Nothing I like better than being afraid that I’m going to be some critter’s dinner when I’m hiking and swimming.
/johnny
When I think of how many times I have swam off Chatham...
Harding’s Beach, the Chatham Bars Inn. One we took my uncle’s boat out to sand bar and had a BBQ.Remember that, Dad? And the whole time we were in Jaws territory!
"We're going to need some more tags."
And, to think, that at the time of filming ‘Jaws’ in the Cape cod waters, there had not been any sightings of any great white sharks, ever!
The big attraction for the white sharks is that when they get around 12 long they start feeding on marine mammals.
Seals in Mass. had a bounty on them until 1962, then it was the Federal Govt. who protected them in the Marine Mammal Protection act in 1972.
There was an insignificant amount of seals around then, but the population has exploded to the point some fisheries are being depleted by the seals on Cape Cod.
Seals are still protected, and the Fed Govt. doesn't seem inclined to cull them to reasonable numbers. -Tom
Odd are, given where they, any human they get will be an ultra lib so it’s all good.
A friend who has been directly involved in the tagging, told me they follow some of these sharks for many miles until they can tag it correctly.
These tags cost thousands of dollars and must be placed properly to stay in for long periods of time.
Some of the sharks cruise up the beaches in less than 5 feet of water and when the taggers are following a shark past beachgoers, he can hear them say"Why is that boat so close to shore in here".( NOW the people know enough to get out of the water if they see a tagging boat anywhere near them.)
In some cases the white sharks are 16 feet in length,and just below the surface and the people at the waters edge, because of the surface glare, can't pick the shark out which is just ahead of the tagging boat and right in front of them. -Tom
My parents retired to Chatham in ‘97. But my Mom’s mom lived there from ‘68, I think. I have been to Chatham many times..
Big fish fun!
Food for sharks!
Shark magnets!
Nice photo. But to truly appreciate the impact of these seals, one must bring a boat close along the shore. The amount of feces in the water is staggering, as is the odor. Imagine a barnyard with several hundred pigs.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts dutifully monitors the water quality - up current from the haul out area! No problem here. /s
And they test the water for human, pig, and dog feces but not seal. No problem here! /s
Typical libs in charge!
I lived in Chatham for four years. We spent a lot of time at Harding’s Beach in the summer. We were always alert for the presence of these brutes.
I spoke to the spotter pilot this morning.
Yesterday was his last spotting day this year.
He said the water was murky but he saw 6-8 white sharks at Chatham.
One was tagged, 2 more white sharks were identified.
Yesterday was his last spotting day this year, although whites in diminishing numbers, will be in the Chatham area probably until Christmas.
Another pilot who keeps a plane at Chatham is available if more tagging is done.-Tom
There have been a lot of seals the past few summers.
When I spoke to the pilot this AM he told me he took a photo of a white eating a seal yesterday. I will find that photo and put it up on this thread, or at least a link to it. -Tom
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