Monsters no more? Cape Cod sharks get a makeover
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Grace Elletson Staff
| Chatham, Mass.
America鈥檚 favorite summertime villain is back on the big screen this weekend in 鈥淭he Meg,鈥� which tells yet another exaggerated tale about the perils of one of the ocean鈥檚 most feared predators 鈥� sharks.
But despite decades of negative portrayals in pop culture, perspectives may be shifting for the often misunderstood species, and one Cape Cod town is leading the effort.
Chatham, Mass., a town on the outer elbow of Cape Cod鈥檚 arm,聽has long been a destination for beach-loving tourists. But in recent years, an influx of seals has attracted some new seasonal visitors: great white sharks.聽
Why We Wrote This
Stereotypes can be difficult to live down 鈥� even when it comes to marine life. In Chatham, Mass., educators are working to help residents and vacationers shed their misconceptions about sharks.
For scientists, the arrival of the great white signals a welcome opportunity to study the notoriously elusive animals in the waters along the East Coast of the United States for the first time. But for many residents and vacationers, the sight of their iconic dorsal fins cutting through the water stokes anxieties seeded long ago in movies like 鈥淛aws.鈥� Educators聽at the Chatham Shark Center are working to counter those fears with facts.
鈥淜nowledge is power. And I think that there is a fear of what people don鈥檛 understand,鈥� says Marianne Long, education director of the聽Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, which runs the聽Chatham Shark Center. 鈥淎nd so when we鈥檙e able to educate them and give them more of a background, it can really help to ease those fears.鈥�
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The reputational rehab appears to be working, as many residents and local business owners have adopted the great white as an unofficial聽town mascot.聽Visitors can find shark-related apparel in almost every shop lining Chatham鈥檚 Main Street. An art installation called 鈥淪harks in the Park鈥� provides a school of artfully decorated shark cutouts for passersby to admire. And according to Ms. Long, shark ecotourism is thriving.聽
But still, visitors can be hesitant 鈥� the center has received calls from people in support of a 鈥渃ull,鈥澛爋r an organized killing of sharks to control populations. Culls can actually create more problems says Long, which is why the center is constantly reminding people that the presence of sharks is actually a positive sign of a healthy, biodiverse ecosystem. She and her colleagues also spend a good deal of their time assuring visitors that聽shark attacks are incredibly rare, especially off the coast of Cape Cod.聽
The great whites are drawn to the area by the presence of seals, their preferred food source. Scientists believe most shark attacks are actually 鈥渢est bites.鈥� That鈥檚 likely what happened聽to Cleveland Bigelow in August 2017 when he was stand-up paddleboarding off of Marconi Beach in nearby Wellfleet and a shark took a bite out of his board, knocking him into the water.聽Mr. Bigelow wasn鈥檛 hurt 鈥� sharks have taste buds, so once it realized the board wasn鈥檛 food, it swam away. His board, with bite mark and all, can be now be observed up close in the Chatham Shark Center.
According to the聽, there have only been five recorded, unprovoked shark attacks in waters off of Cape Cod dating back to 1800. The only person to ever die from a shark attack in the Cape Cod region was bit in 1936 when swimming off of a beach in Mattapoisett. Globally, there were 88 unprovoked shark attacks in 2017, which scientists say is an average amount. 聽
Marine scientists have聽worked to dispel the 鈥渕an-eating鈥� image of a shark for decades. But fears have been persistent, especially among adults whose first introduction to the great white came in the movie 鈥淛aws.鈥�
Younger generations, however, have had much different initial encounters with fictional sharks. Many young children first learn about sharks from Bruce of 鈥淔inding Nemo,鈥澛燼 rehabilitated great white with the mantra 鈥淔ish are friends, not food!鈥� Young adults today are more likely to have laughed their way through 鈥淪harknado鈥� or have attended an aquarium or shark center educational program聽by the time they see 鈥淛aws.鈥�
Colton Chorey, 7, visited the Chatham Shark Center with his parents and says he now knows sharks aren鈥檛 typically a threat to humans.
鈥淚鈥檓 not scared,鈥� says Colton. 鈥淭hey only bite people on accident.鈥�
His mom, Lauren Chorey, says she wants her son to learn more about sharks so that they can have a respect for the animals without having to be constantly afraid while enjoying the ocean on Cape Cod.
鈥淲hen I grew up [sharks] were villains,鈥� Chorey says. 鈥淏ut attacks are so rare. We shouldn鈥檛 be scared.鈥�
