Summer of the Shark on Cape Cod Makes New York Times

It’s truly the Summer of the Shark on Cape Cod when it makes the New York Times.  Nytimes.com is reporting on the feelings of residents, business owners and tourists on all the hype around nearly daily Great White Shark sightings off the Cape Cod beaches.

With nearly one beach closure a day, the opinions are vastly divided.  Some want to cull the herd of seals and take away the food source that the Great Whites are in town looking for.  People like A.J. Salerno, who lives in Eastham, has two teenagers who love to surf, but he has been driving them down to Rhode Island rather than hang out near home because he feels the population of seals is not as large therefore there will be fewer sharks in Rhode Island.  A.J. Salerno makes an excellent point that the people and environmental groups that keep statistics about the animals are those that make it their career.  But Dr. Skomal makes a good point that even if the population of seals was cut down, the sharks don’t get the message that the Cape Cod seal restaurant they go to is shut down.  It’s a big ocean, and the seal population would be replaced over time.

No matter which side of the argument you are on, one thing is certain, according to nytimes.com the “Summer of the Shark” is hurting businesses like surf shops and has closed down surfing schools.  There is no easy answer to the problem but hopefully, something can be done and soon.  In the battle of Man vs. Nature, it appears that FEAR is the winner.