lucky wilbury
09-25-2004, 02:07 AM
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/B54699/
Great White Shark Spotted Off Cape Cod
FALMOUTH, Mass. -- Marine researchers tagged a 15-foot great white shark off Cape Cod this week, the first time a great white has been outfitted with a device that will store information about the creature's travels.
The 1,700-pound female shark was first spotted Tuesday. Gregory Skomal, a shark specialist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, used a six-foot spear to attach the tag to the shark's dorsal fin Thursday near Hadley Harbor, off Naushon Island.
The tag does not immediately transmit data about the shark's whereabouts; rather, it archives information about the shark's travels, and is programmed to pop off in April 2005, float to the surface, and send its archived data all at once.
"We're not going to do anything. We're going to let nature take its course," Skomal said.
People have been flocking to the area to catch a glimpse of the shark as it circles in the shallow waters off Naushon. Skomal said the animal appears healthy.
"There is no stress, no confusion, no erratic behavior. Nothing to indicate this shark is bothered," he said.
The shark has apparently spent several days in the somewhat enclosed area framed by Woods Hole, Naushon Island, and two smaller islands, Uncatena and Nonamesset.
Scientists said the gathered data will provide a windfall of information about the migrations of the great white shark.
"It's a very exciting event. We're not characterizing it at all as a dangerous event for the shark," said Frank Almeida, deputy director of the Northeast Science Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's office in Wood's Hole.
Great whites are common in the deeper waters south of Martha's Vineyard, but they rarely venture so close to the mainland. In recent years, a rebounding seal population has led to an increase in sightings near Cape Cod, experts say.
"There's not a lot known about this species of shark in the world, and especially in the Atlantic," said Nancy Kohler, a Narragansett, R.I.-based biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service.
A great white was responsible for the last fatal shark attack in Massachusetts, in 1936, when a child was killed while swimming in Buzzards Bay near Mattapoisett. (AP)
Great White Shark Spotted Off Cape Cod
FALMOUTH, Mass. -- Marine researchers tagged a 15-foot great white shark off Cape Cod this week, the first time a great white has been outfitted with a device that will store information about the creature's travels.
The 1,700-pound female shark was first spotted Tuesday. Gregory Skomal, a shark specialist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, used a six-foot spear to attach the tag to the shark's dorsal fin Thursday near Hadley Harbor, off Naushon Island.
The tag does not immediately transmit data about the shark's whereabouts; rather, it archives information about the shark's travels, and is programmed to pop off in April 2005, float to the surface, and send its archived data all at once.
"We're not going to do anything. We're going to let nature take its course," Skomal said.
People have been flocking to the area to catch a glimpse of the shark as it circles in the shallow waters off Naushon. Skomal said the animal appears healthy.
"There is no stress, no confusion, no erratic behavior. Nothing to indicate this shark is bothered," he said.
The shark has apparently spent several days in the somewhat enclosed area framed by Woods Hole, Naushon Island, and two smaller islands, Uncatena and Nonamesset.
Scientists said the gathered data will provide a windfall of information about the migrations of the great white shark.
"It's a very exciting event. We're not characterizing it at all as a dangerous event for the shark," said Frank Almeida, deputy director of the Northeast Science Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's office in Wood's Hole.
Great whites are common in the deeper waters south of Martha's Vineyard, but they rarely venture so close to the mainland. In recent years, a rebounding seal population has led to an increase in sightings near Cape Cod, experts say.
"There's not a lot known about this species of shark in the world, and especially in the Atlantic," said Nancy Kohler, a Narragansett, R.I.-based biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service.
A great white was responsible for the last fatal shark attack in Massachusetts, in 1936, when a child was killed while swimming in Buzzards Bay near Mattapoisett. (AP)