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CAPE COD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — There might be sharks in the water but the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy says not to worry.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy team updated its White Shark Catalog to include new sharks detected along the coast of Massachusetts in the 18 different research trips conducted in 2022. The conservancy identified 55 new sharks and documented the return of 63 previously identified sharks last year.
While more sharks are being seen, researchers say they are attracted to the seal population off of Cape Cod and not the beachgoers that swim there.
Since the AWSC began monitoring the white shark population in 2014, the organization has identified more than 600 white sharks.
"Among the returning individuals was white shark ‘Danny’, an 11-foot male that was first identified by the team in 2014. He has returned to Cape Cod every year since and was tagged by Dr. Skomal in 2019. Since he was tagged, he has traveled as far south as Georgia and as far north as Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada. From the footage collected over the years, the team has been able to document Danny’s growth as well of evidence of predatory interactions with seals," The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said in a statement.
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Megan Winton, a research scientist with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, said by comparing photos taken of Danny over the years, researchers know he is in good health and has been feeding off the New England seal population.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy developed an app called the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy Sharktivity App with the help of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, the Cape Cod National Seashore, and Cape Cod and South Shore town officials to raise awareness of the white shark population off the Massachusetts coast. The app allows users to track sharks such as Danny as they swim along our coastal waters.
WBZ's Charlie Bergeron has more:
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