Saving Seafood

Sharks and seals: A success story on Cape Cod

July 1, 2019 — Eighteen years ago, charter boat captain Joseph Fitzback and his customers held on tight as a 14-foot great white stripped a striped bass off a fishing line, then rocked the boat with a couple of exploratory bumps, 2 miles off Chatham’s Lighthouse Beach.

Television crews and reporters lined up to interview Fitzback, but as the numbers of seals, and the sharks pursuing them, have increased, such interactions are almost commonplace. In a relatively short time the Cape has evolved from ocean playground to wilderness experience, and today Fitzback’s story might get little more than a few hits on social media.

By now, the first of perhaps hundreds of great whites, the largest such aggregation on the East Coast, have returned to the Cape for the summer from their winter grounds to the south. They are hunting a gray seal population that has exploded from almost zero in the 1970s to nearly 30,000, possibly as many as 50,000, today, depending on the science you choose to believe.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Watching Whales Sensibly for Ten Years June 26, 2019

June 27, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As humpback whales make their way back to New England and Mid-Atlantic waters from their winter breeding grounds, whale watch companies’ seasons are swinging into high gear along the Atlantic coast. Marine wildlife viewing tours are one of the highest revenue-producing tourism industries in the northeast, with more than one million whale watchers in New England alone.

This year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Whale SENSE, a program that promotes responsible whale watching practices and ocean conservation. The goal of Whale SENSE is to allow people to experience these majestic creatures in their natural habitat, while respecting their space and not interfering with their natural behaviors.

Whale SENSE began in 2009 with three Cape Cod, Massachusetts companies. NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary developed the program, in which whale watch companies agree to annual training of all naturalists and captains, an annual evaluation of the company’s behavior around whales, and completion of an annual stewardship project.

Participants in the program use a Whale SENSE logo on their promotional materials, and are listed on the Whale SENSE website. By choosing a Whale SENSE company, passengers know that they are making a responsible choice that benefits the whales and the marine environment as a whole.

Read the full release here

New Study to Aims to Keep Beachgoers Safe From Great Whites

June 20, 2019 — Researchers on Cape Cod are launching a new study focused on the hunting and feeding habits of the region’s great white sharks following last year’s two attacks on humans.

Greg Skomal, a state marine biologist leading the effort, says the hope is to contribute critical information to the ongoing debate over how to keep Cape beachgoers safe.

The new research calls for placing sophisticated tags on sharks to track their swimming speed, depth and body position in the water.

Read the full story at NBC Boston

New study to examine feeding habits of Cape Cod great whites

June 19, 2019 — Researchers on Cape Cod are launching a new study focused on the hunting and feeding habits of the region’s great white sharks following last year’s two attacks on humans, including the state’s first fatal one in more than 80 years.

The hope is that the work, which starts in the coming days, contributes critical information to the ongoing debate over how to keep Cape beachgoers safe, said state marine biologist Greg Skomal, who has been studying the region’s great whites for years and is leading the new effort.

“If we can figure out how, where and when these sharks are attacking seals, we may be able to see if there is a pattern or any predictability to it,” he said. “That’s really useful information for someone trying to manage their beach and enhance public safety. If there are hot spots that can be identified, we certainly want to share that information with the public.”

Cape Cod officials have been wrestling with how to respond to public concern in the aftermath of last year’s attacks. A New York man was badly mauled by a shark last August off a beach in Truro but survived. Then weeks later a Massachusetts man was killed by a shark while boogie boarding in nearby Wellfleet.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Daily Times

Researchers to Begin New Study on White Shark Behavior

June 6, 2019 — The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries five-year white shark population study is nearing completion and scientists will begin a new wave of research off Cape Cod this summer.

Since 2014, research led by state marine biologist Dr. Greg Skomal has been conducted to get a more accurate picture of how many sharks spend their summers in waters off the Cape.

Results from the five-year study are expected to be released soon.

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, in collaboration with DMF, will start several projects that are focused on getting a better understanding of the predatory behavior of white sharks in the region.

“The big focus now is to get better information to inform public safety practices,” said Megan Winton, a staff scientist with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

“The best way we can do that at this point is to learn more about what these animals are doing in the waters off of the coast.”

The research conducted over the next five years will be a continuation of the previous population study.

“Now the focus is to really get as many tags on animals as we can to get a better idea of what the population is doing as a whole off of our coast,” Winton said.

Atlantic White Shark Conservancy CEO Cynthia Wigren said it is critical to get a better idea of hunting and feeding behavior from a public safety perspective.

“If sharks are feeding at certain times of the day or stages of the tide, for example, we can use that information to identify periods when the risk of interactions between sharks and recreational water users may be highest,” Wigren said.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Sound barrier to chase seals, prevent shark attacks debated

May 29, 2019 — A Cape Cod company has proposed building a sonic barrier around the region’s beaches to chase away seals and prevent shark attacks.

Deep Blue LLC presented its idea Wednesday at a public meeting in Barnstable. It sparked a broader debate about addressing the region’s massive seal population.

The company envisions a system of underwater audio devices that will emit a sound unpleasant to seals.

Owners Willy Planinshek and Kevin McCarthy say that if the seals leave the area, the great white sharks that eat them will follow.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Film Details Impact Of The Loss Of The ‘Sacred Cod’

May 29, 2019 — In the early 17th century, English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold gave Cape Cod its name due to the abundant cod fish he saw in its waters.

Throughout history, the cod has played a crucial role in feeding various peoples, from explorers on ships such as the Vikings, to Basques, to Europeans, to early settlers of the Cape. They all lived on cod, whether it was fresh, salted or frozen. Author Mark Kurlansky, in his 1998 book “Cod,” dubs the cod “the fish that changed the world.”

Yet now this essential fish is endangered, as detailed in the film “Sacred Cod: The Fight for the Future of America’s Oldest Fishery.” The culprits? Climate change, government policies and overfishing.

“Overfishing was just part of the problem with cod,” David Abel, a Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter for the Boston Globe, said in an email interview. Abel reported, wrote, directed and co-produced the film, which will be screened at the Chatham Orpheum Theater on Saturday, June 1 at 10 a.m. as part of its Sustainability Series. “Climate change also has played a significant role in making it much harder for a species that had been overfished for generations to bounce back. Cod can only thrive in a narrow band of temperatures.”

As well as Abel, the 2016 independent film is the work of Steve Liss, for 25 years a photographer for Time magazine, and Andy Laub, founder of As It Happens Creative. The 65-minute film has won five awards and was broadcast around the world in 2017.

In a nutshell, the story is this. The cod fishery has collapsed in New England, specifically in the Gulf of Maine, which is warming at an alarming rate due to climate change. In November 2014, when the government learned that the population of cod was only 3 or 4 percent of what is needed to sustain a healthy population, cod fishing was banned in the region. This led to an outcry from fishermen whose livelihoods were threatened.

Read the full story at The Cape Cod Chronicle

MASSACHUSETTS: Right whales extending their stays in Cape Cod Bay

May 21, 2019 — With the count of North Atlantic right whale sightings in Cape Cod Bay down to zero Thursday, the end-of-season findings by the Center for Coastal Studies indicate what could be new realities: More animals are showing up each year, and the length of time they’re staying in the bay is longer.

“There are two trajectories,” said Charles “Stormy” Mayo, the center’s right whale ecology program director. “Our trajectory is going up while the total number of right whales is going down, fairly steeply.”

The center has studied the right whales in the bay for several decades, currently with airplane surveys for population counts and boat surveys to identify food densities in the water. The data collected is used, in part, to help the state Division of Marine Fisheries place and lift restrictions in the bay on trap gear fishing and vessel speeds.

The right whales — now considered at risk of extinction in the coming decades along the Atlantic coast due to deaths and injuries from being caught in fishing rope and hit by ships — have a current population of around 411. They typically arrive to feed in Cape Cod Bay in late winter and leave by the end of April, along an annual migratory path that stretches from Florida to Canada.

So far, the center has confirmed 267 individual right whales seen by either plane or boat for the current season, making that roughly 65 percent of the estimated total population. Considering the complete range of the whales’ migration along the East Coast, the concentration in the relatively small area known as Cape Cod Bay is “remarkable,” Mayo said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Recreational Cod Fishing Could Restart, Barely, In Gulf Of Maine

May 16, 2019 — In a story May 16 about recreational cod fishing, The Associated Press erroneously reported the proposed catch limit. It would be one Gulf of Maine cod per day during two seasons in September and April that last 15 days each, not one per year during those limited seasons.

A corrected version of the story is below:

The recreational fishery for a species of fish that has experienced population collapse in recent history could reopen.

Recreational fishing for Atlantic cod has not been allowed in the Gulf of Maine recently due to concerns about the decline in the fish’s population. But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the fish could withstand a very limited fishery at the moment.

Federal regulators are considering a proposal to allow recreational fishermen to catch one Gulf of Maine cod per day during two limited seasons that last 15 days each in September and April. The Gulf of Maine is a body of water off Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire that once teemed with cod, which is the namesake of Cape Cod.

Read the full story from the Associated Press

The Shark Attack That Changed Cape Cod Forever

May 15, 2019 — Last summer, Arthur Medici went surfing off the coast of Cape Cod. He never made it back alive. As the region’s shores increasingly become a hotbed for great white sharks, is it finally time to be afraid to go in the water, for real?

Isaac Rocha sat in class trying to concentrate on his schoolwork, but his mind was somewhere else. It was a Friday afternoon in mid-September 2018, and although the academic year had just begun, the 16-year-old Everett High School junior and novice bodyboard surfer was already longing for the weekend. Suddenly, his cell phone buzzed, and he quietly slid it out of his pocket, careful not to alert his teacher. The text screen lit up.

“Yo, what’s up?” it read. “What are you doing?”

Rocha smiled and quickly typed a reply: “I’m in school.”

Seconds later, his phone vibrated again.

“Yo, let’s go to Cape Cod. We’re gonna grab a hotel and go surfing. Go home and grab your stuff and be ready because I’m coming to your house.”

The message came from Arthur Medici, a 26-year-old college student from Brazil who attended Rocha’s church and had known him for years. When the final school bell rang, releasing students like a pack of greyhounds at the track, Rocha hopped onto his motorcycle and raced home. Just as he was gathering his board, wetsuit, and a fresh set of clothes, he heard a knock on the front door.

“Come on out!” Medici shouted excitedly.

Moments later, the two friends climbed into Medici’s black Nissan Altima and began the long trek to the outer edge of Cape Cod. Stuck in bumper-to-bumper Friday-afternoon traffic, they searched for Jack Johnson songs on the radio and caught up on the week, chatting about work, school, and life. Medici had recently asked Rocha’s sister, Emily, to marry him, and Rocha was thrilled his friend would soon become family.

Read the full story at Boston Magazine