This is why great white shark sightings have risen off the Northeast coast

This summer scientists confirmed the existence of a rare great white shark fishery just off the coast of New York City. The are only three known to exist in the world. Roughly 200 baby great whites are believed to be born there every year.

Once they’ve spent a year learning how to survive they head further north typically to the waters off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. However, the growing population has been spotted even farther north in Canadian waters.

Why are there more and more great white shark sightings in the Northeast?

On the one hand the growing shark population is a story of successful environmental recovery efforts. As the gray seal populations have rebounded in the Northeast, the sharks are getting back one of their primary food sources.

Also, the fact that the nursery is so near to such a densely populated area, located in what is called the New York Bight, a triangular area between Montauk Point, Long Island; Cape May, New Jersey; and New York City, is again another conservation success story.

“It’s amazing that the ocean is healthy enough to have these abundant fish populations, including abundant shark populations, right outside New York City and Long Island,” said Tobey Curtis, a fishery management specialist with NOAA’s Office of Sustainable Fisheries, speaking to National Geographic. “Even with all those millions of people near the shore and the impact on the waterways, the ecosystem is healthier now than it’s been in a long time.”

Why are the great whites moving further north?

It’s not all good news though. There are concerns that warming waters may push the shark nursery further east and north.

National Geographic explains that “baby sharks, not yet able to regulate their body temperature, prefer warmer temperatures, staying in the range of 70 degrees Fahrenheit as much as possible.” This warm water is not only free of larger predators but is rich in prey.

However, if the nursery were to move too far east and north it would enter the hunting grounds of adult great whites, makos, and other shark species which could treat the baby sharks as prey.

As for the increase in adult great whites off the coast of Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada, a Marine Ecology Progress Series paper published in Inter-Research in May attributed this to an overall growth in their population and its expansion of distribution. Another study determined the waters off Cape Cod probably have the highest density of great whites in the world.

Another reason the sharks may be venturing further north during summer months are changes in habitat use noted the paper published in May.

As for increased sightings, that could also be partially down to more eyes watching, in the form of drones scanning the waters off the coast and catching sight of the apex predators.

“If you’re not used to hearing about sharks in the water it might seem a bit alarming. But they’ve been there all along, it’s just that we’re aware of it,” Gavin Naylor, director of Florida program for shark research told the Today show.

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