Posted on 07/18/2020 6:49:30 PM PDT by Capt. Tom
July is here and “Jaws” reruns herald the return of white sharks to our waters, attracted by our ever-growing gray seal population. Over the winter, gray seals have — thanks in large measure to the protection afforded by the Marine Mammal Protection Act — further augmented their numbers. The “gray seal buffet” is once again open for business.
But this season is, of course, unlike any in recent times. For the Cape and Islands, the coronavirus poses a far greater threat to the safety of its beachgoers and well-being of its economy than white sharks. But those threats are not necessarily unrelated.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act is distinctive in that it not only protects all marine mammals, it protects them in perpetuity, regardless of their numbers and impact on co-existing species, including humans. Let me hasten to acknowledge that the act was necessary and appropriate when it was passed almost 50 years ago and remains so in most respects.
Because it protects marine mammals permanently, it in effect relies on nature to take its course in controlling marine mammal populations and finding an appropriate balance among competing and coexisting marine species.snip...
And finally, research in recent years has found that a significant percentage of seals on Muskeget have antibodies linked to an avian strain of influenza and a smaller, but still significant, percentage had an active form of the virus, likely owing to population density.
The regulators responsible for administering the Marine Mammal Protection Act are understandably preoccupied with saving the most threatened species.....snip But that is no excuse for ignoring the demonstrable proliferation of species such as gray seals or condoning a law that compounds that proliferation by protecting the species in perpetuity, regardless of the threats to public health and safety posed by that ever-growing population.
(Excerpt) Read more at capecodtimes.com ...
Gray seals live about 30-35 years and white sharks about 60-70 years.
There are approx. 50,000 Gray Seals in Mass and many protected white sharks visiting Mass. to feast on them, with an occasional interaction with a person.
So summer is here, and the white sharks and bathers are sharing the same watery territory.
Town funding to mitigate the problem, has probably been reduced by our reaction to covid-19, so lets hope no one gets seriously injured or worse. - Tom
As long as all of the swimmers are wearing masks I don’t see the problem here.
Of course, the utter collapse of the Atlantic cod has nothing to do with the explosion in seal population, that is wholly the fault if people.
Now those same people get to feed the sharks too...
OF, not if. sheesh.
There is just so much we can learn from Sharks.
They are working on several new vaccines.
I’m guessing that the seals are cutting into your business.
I noticed that they have built several Salmon hatcheries in British Columbia.
Would it be possible to do the same around your area? Build hatcheries to try to increase the numbers of fish?
I could be wrong but I sense the Cape Cod towns are backing away from mitigation funding that they were touting last year.
It will probably drift into ; "if you don't want to be attacked by a bear, stay out of the woods.
If you don't want to be attacked by a white shark, stay out of the Ocean.
But the Cape has a tourism problem, that also has to be addre$$ed - Tom.
I live in a Rocky Mountain tourist town. It’s going to die from Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the state, the county and even the town itself.
The pols don’t seem to get that hotels and restaurants survive on a small margin even in the best of times. Or that they employ a lot of people.
We have a few Freepers on Cape Cod that could weigh in, and give us the economic situation here.
To me Cape Cod has to be beyond repair this 2020 season. -Tom
See, even in the ocean, the whites are preying upon the seaple of color.
Oh the politicians understand. They wish to ruin the country. You are just a bump in that road
While speaking of the Cape...
This one is COVID related.
I live on the Cape. Yesterday we couldn’t go to the beach. Not because the parking lot was full (which happens sometimes in mid-summer). No, it was because with 6 foot social distance spacing and high tide, “the beach was full.” “Come back in a few hours when the tide goes out and there’s more space.”
“It’s going to die from Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the state, the county and even the town itself.”
And Polis is still hiding in his basement.
What I have noticed here between Boston and Plymouth is about 15% of the beachgoers are in the water and very few if any are in water deeper than waist deep.
I wonder how that compares with the Cape Cod beaches? -Tom
It’s an age determined distribution. If there’s a lot of kids and teens, there will be more people in the water than if it’s mostly older folks. And that doesn’t count the surfers.
well said.
what is the latest news on tagging the GWs??
Yours, TMN78247
There have been several reports of 6’ great whites off of Plum Island now. Over the weekend one jumped out of the water chasing striper in mouth of the Merrimack River.
For all of those not familiar with the geography I am referring to. The Merrimack River flows south out of the White Mountains of NH, takes a left turn in Lowell, MA and exits into the ocean just south of the MA/NH border at Newburyport, MA. This is pretty far north of the Cape.
FYI, there is also a fairly large population of seals living on and around the Isle Of Shoals. Seal Island in the Isle of Shoals(6 miles off the NH/ME coast) is a federally protected island. No humans can step foot on the island.
Sooner or later the great whites will find that food source.
I was at my son’s house in Rye, NH yesterday. I got up to watch the sunrise and put in my 2 mile walk on Jenness Beach before 6am.
High tide was around 11:30am so we did not even go out to the beach until 2:30. With the tide going out the beach depth is 100 yards or more. We left around 4:30. Low tide was 5pm.
The best thing about the NH governors Kung Flu restrictions is the fact that you can not park on Route 1A currently. So, Jenness State Beach parking lot is literally FULL @ 6:30 am. The only oyher parking lots or side street parking is Rye Town residents only. Subject to a $100 parking ticket. They have teenagers running around on mopeds giving out tickets too. Especially on the weekends.
As long as all of the sharks are practicing Social Distancing I don’t see the problem here................
No doubt about it, since the seals are spreading out, and the white sharks are increasing.(Both species Federally protected)
IMHO White sharks eat a seal about every week to 10 days. So when they eat one at Cape Cod, they can find another meal on their way up and down the New England coast and will take advantage of that.
Up to 10 feet in length they seem to go after fish like stripers and bluefish- over ten feet in length they need seals and whale carcasses to sustain their bulk as they grow to 16-19 feet in length.-Tom
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