The NFC B-Day Chat Thread

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KDOGG331 said:
Yup! I’ve been reading some of that stuff. There is an interesting show called “When Sharks Attack” and while it’s a tad bit sensationalized, they do have two episodes on Cape Cod. I found them quite interesting. They suggested about 3 different theories per each one (the episodes were several years apart so not really a “two part” series but rather they came back cause there were more attacks including the fatal one) and it was interesting.

One of the episodes did mention that they they are young sharks. I guess they had recently filmed a juvenile Great White out by Long Island? When they had never filmed one so young before. And they say even a 12-14 foot shark is still a juvenile as they can get to around 18 or 20 feet.

So the theory is that the juveniles are being born over on Long Island and then as they get older and start to move from hunting fish to hunting seals, they head over to Cape Cod, only about 400ish miles, not far at all to a Great White (they go all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico and way out off into the deep parts of the Atlantic and all over after they leave the Cape), because the seal population has been growing exponentially in recent years and is now extremely abundant there, so they head over there, but the problem is that they are still juveniles, babies, and learning how to hunt seals still. They have been eating fish their whole life and are now switching over to seals and going through a bit of a learning curve. They have to learn what a seal is and how to hunt it and what is not a seal. Hence, accidentally getting humans sometimes.

I think it makes perfect sense. Though of course not all the shark attacks are babies but most of them are within that juvenile size range. And of course there are other theories too that I thought made sense too but who knows haha

What I do know is that I find it all very interesting and I think that sharks are greatly misunderstood. That video showed it some too. He could have easily flipped that boat or hurt those people but he was just cruising by. Didn’t care about them.

I really don’t think they are the man eating monsters most people make them out to be.

Though of course it is horrible people have died and/or gotten seriously injured or paralyzed from them and I do feel horribly for those people and their families. But I also know the shark is just being a shark and doesn’t understand.

There are many here who have come up with all sorts of ways to get rid of the sharks, deter them, etc. and honestly, I think it’s so stupid. This is their ocean.

The problem is we haven’t had sharks here in decades, you used to ask someone if they’ve seen a shark or if there were sharks in the water or whatever and it was a joke, haha yeah right. But now tons of people have seen one or at least heard of the sightings and beaches are being closed practically daily because of shark sightings.

There’s many opinions here. Some say we should remove the protection on the seals and just go kill a bunch of them and the sharks will go away. I am not sure I agree with that. They ARE quite over abundant here and definitely not endangered anymore and they do eat a lot of the fisherman’s fish too but they also have just as much right to be here as any other animal and I don’t think we should be going around messing with nature. Besides, no protection is how they got endangered and almost extinct to begin with. Besides, I think with the growing shark population, we should let them take care of it.

Others say kill the sharks. I don’t agree with that other.

Some say we should have some sort of electromagnetic net or something and keep the sharks away from the beach but there have been studies on how that messes with ecosystems.

Others, namely the shark researchers but also people into nature and the environment, feel that the fact that the sharks and seals have been returning is actually good and something to be celebrated. That the area is finally starting to return to its natural, healthy state. The sharks are recovering and they’re preying on their natural prey: seals. And the seal population will maybe start to get in check.

I personally am more so in this camp. It’s their ocean, we just get to play with it.

And so many people are worried about their home value or tourism or whatever and how THEY personally have lived here all this time and now the stupid sharks have ruined everything. I think it’s stupid and selfish and I’m kind of inclined to say too bad haha

Of course I feel bad that people have died but we have been lucky. Most other places in the world with sharks have shark attacks all the time. It’s just a part of life. We’ve had only a handful of attacks and only one death. The death is awful and I feel horribly but the ecosystem is finally almost healthy again and we’re just gonna go mess with it so we feel safe using the waters again? It’s selfish. They are putting signs up warning people about the sharks and putting shark attack kits at every beach now which some people are also mad about and think it scares people away but I think we have to be realistic. The sharks aren’t going anywhere so why not warn people and have some first aid kits and tourniquets?

Also, as for tourism and scaring people away, I actually think that if people are smart, the sharks can be a draw!! Have shark boat tours or cage dives or something! They already have Cape Jaws hats and shirts and stuff. Although now with the death I do kind of think some of that stuff might be a little bit insensitive but idk.

But I think we just have to roll with it and adapt to this new change and new life.

It does suck because I will probably never go swimming in the ocean again, a lot of people won’t, it’s just not safe anymore, but I’m not gonna try to blame the sharks or kick them out of their own habitat.

Anyway, sorry for the rant.... :oops: did not mean to go on one haha whoops. :oops:
Click to expand...

I'm with you on all of it :thumbsup
 
igorsMistress said:
I'm with you on all of it :thumbsup
Click to expand...

Glad we’re on the same page! Haha I figured we would be. I think just about anyone with some common sense could see that it’s not a good idea to go messing around with nature haha

That said, I’m actually kind of hopeful that the increase in sharks will help curb the seal population a bit. I love the seals but the fish populations have depleted in recent years and they think the seals are at least partly to blame. In some areas fishermen can’t even fish anymore because seals will eat all of their fish. So that’s bad but I’m hoping the sharks will curb it. They haven’t had any natural predators for years. And actually Chatham is a popular destination because you can watch the seals come in with the fishing boats and see tons of seals and stand on the pier and watch. There are also seal watching tours off Monomoy Island where they go watch the seals bathe on the beach/sand bars and watch the birds and stuff too. So I guess the shark increase might hurt that. But I actually think it could be good. Get a bigger boat and add it to the nature tour haha watch a shark eat a seal close up :lau :oops:

But there are often literally thousands of seals on those sand bars.

They have exploded because of no natural predators and illegal to hunt. But I don’t think making them legal to hunt is the answer. I actually think in a few decades or maybe sooner once the sharks have been here a bit longer, the populations of both will begin to stabilize and maybe the fish will even come back.

Kind of like Yellowstone when the wolves were reintroduced. People hated that too but from what I have read and understand, it really helped the environment recover. I think it will be the same way with the sharks, seals, fish, and ecosystem here. One can hope at least.

Also, if you or Igor (or anyone else) are interested, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has a shark tracking app. :D

https://www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/download-sharktivity

They also have a lot more info on all the ongoing studies and education on sharks and everything. Their website is fun to browse through. :)

https://www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/
 
Just saw this one too. So scary. This one is a lot closer to us and we used to go to this sand bar all the time as kids! There weren’t many sharks then but still. I have accepted them being on Cape Cod but being that close to us is scary! And it breached too! We never see that here. Or at least I never have haha probably a baby but still.

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/08/12/plymouth-beaches-shark-sighting-no-swimming/

71D48FC5-1928-4773-BB2E-5E3436DD17E6.png
 
KDOGG331 said:
Glad we’re on the same page! Haha I figured we would be. I think just about anyone with some common sense could see that it’s not a good idea to go messing around with nature haha

That said, I’m actually kind of hopeful that the increase in sharks will help curb the seal population a bit. I love the seals but the fish populations have depleted in recent years and they think the seals are at least partly to blame. In some areas fishermen can’t even fish anymore because seals will eat all of their fish. So that’s bad but I’m hoping the sharks will curb it. They haven’t had any natural predators for years. And actually Chatham is a popular destination because you can watch the seals come in with the fishing boats and see tons of seals and stand on the pier and watch. There are also seal watching tours off Monomoy Island where they go watch the seals bathe on the beach/sand bars and watch the birds and stuff too. So I guess the shark increase might hurt that. But I actually think it could be good. Get a bigger boat and add it to the nature tour haha watch a shark eat a seal close up :lau :oops:

But there are often literally thousands of seals on those sand bars.

They have exploded because of no natural predators and illegal to hunt. But I don’t think making them legal to hunt is the answer. I actually think in a few decades or maybe sooner once the sharks have been here a bit longer, the populations of both will begin to stabilize and maybe the fish will even come back.

Kind of like Yellowstone when the wolves were reintroduced. People hated that too but from what I have read and understand, it really helped the environment recover. I think it will be the same way with the sharks, seals, fish, and ecosystem here. One can hope at least.

Also, if you or Igor (or anyone else) are interested, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has a shark tracking app. :D

https://www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/download-sharktivity

They also have a lot more info on all the ongoing studies and education on sharks and everything. Their website is fun to browse through. :)

https://www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/
Click to expand...

Very cool links! Thank you so much for sharing. I bookmarked so I can share them as well.
 

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