Currents
N E WS
YOU DON’T NEED A BIGGER BOAT. PHOTO: JEFF KUBINA /CREATIVE COMMONS
JUST HOW DANGEROUS IS IT TO PADDLE WHERE SHARKS HAVE BEEN SIGHTED?
SHARK SENSE
Due to the recent shark encounters, es- pecially so close to my backyard, with the most recent encounter only a 20-minute drive from my local waters, I wanted to find out more.
I wanted to know whether kayaking within the same state as great white shark sightings was foolhardy, or if the media was just having a field day. When I asked Dr. Greg Skomal of the
Division of Marine Fisheries if he consid- ered it dangerous to kayak in my local wa- ters of Massachusetts, he chuckled. “That’s like asking how dangerous is it to drive on the highway.” Since there is no way to predict shark be-
havior, scientists can only rely on statistics to determine whether or not shark encoun- ters are on the rise. “And there really isn’t much to go on,” said Skomal, “there have only been two attacks in Massachusetts, with zero fatalities, in the last 100 years.” Whenever I turned on the television this summer it seemed sharks were being dis-
20 PADDLING MAGAZINE
cussed. Whether they were talking about a shark sighting or a shark attack was never clear, as the media seems to do all they can with sharky news. I asked Skomal if he believed the media was portraying a valid trend in increased shark activity, or if it was all media hype, and he said it may be a little of both; which forced me to beg him to clarify. “Sharks sell very effectively, the media knows that, and the summer is usually a slow time for other news,” he says. “But, statistically, looking at white sharks sightings across the country in the past few years, the numbers have been increasing.” Skomal says the best way to prevent an encounter with a shark is to use common sense. “Would I go kayaking in Chatham or Monomoy? Probably not,” he said, talk- ing about the summer months, with the most shark behavior. Both towns are pop- ular hang out spots for great white sharks throughout the summers. Visitors to Cape Cod, MA will often see seals hanging
out on the beaches nearby waiting for the sharks to pass. Other spots to watch out for are murky
waters, where sharks are less likely to be able to determine whether you’re prey or not. Even exploratory bites can do a lot of dam- age, especially if you’re tossed out of your kayak. “Places with open ocean exposure are more likely to attract sharks,” says Skomal. Just like any predatory fish, sharks will tar- get edges in depth where they can ambush prey.
As with every year, I start kayaking once I stop worrying about frost bite. It’s only after I’ve thawed and the tourists show up again that I wonder when the other tourists, the ones in the grey suits, will arrive. I still paddle as much as I can in the ocean, but I tend to stay as far away from the hotspots of shark activity that I can. I just don’t tell my friends from out of state that last part; let them think I paddle with sharks everyday. —Ben Duchesney
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