Sharkful Season

"Have we stabilized and reached an equilibrium on Cape Cod when it comes to the number of whites sharks that visit our waters or is 2023 just an usual year, and if was unusual, what is driving that? "

— Dr. Greg Skomal

Senior Fisheries Biologist

What was the 2023 shark season like on Cape Cod?

Dr. Greg Skomal says 2023 seemed to be a slower shark season on Cape Cod than it was 2022 - and scientists have been looking at the data for clues why. He said it could have been either that the sharks were more difficult to see due to water and weather conditions, or there may indeed have been fewer sharks. Numbers did pick up later in the year, specifically in September and October - and Skomal's research group tagged about 20 White sharks tagged in October alone.

What other shark-related trends happened?

In 2023 the number of seals along the Cape Cod coast also appeared to have dropped, and if that proves to be true it could be a factor in fewer sharks. After all, sharks come to Cape to dine and less food could translate into fewer visiting sharks. In addition, the Cape typically sees large schools of sand eels and menhaden in the Cape waters; lower number of fish could be impacting the seal population as well.

Shark ecotourism businesses also related challenges spotting the apex predator during the peak summer months; these businesses have grow along with the shark population, bringing  tourists specifically to see large number of sharks.

What happen with shark research next?

Researchers continue to tag new sharks and monitor the data. They hope this ongoing work will help answer questions about shark population, distribution, and migration - and help the Cape better understand white shark dynamics in our waters.

More shark coverage:

• Is There a Shark Tracking App?
• Sharks and Stakeholders
• Lower Cape TV's shark reporting collection