Tourists have been flocking to Cape Cod this year because of its great white sharks and scientists have the opportunity to study the ocean's most feared predator.
The growing numbers of sharks is making people more curious than fearful and that curiousity it shows in their buying craze for shark-themed merchandise.
Chatham's inlets and sandy beaches are dotted with fishing and tourist vessels and it could easily be a model as the fictional town in a shark movie. Indeed, the movie "Jaws" is playing in local movie theaters and tourist boats are taking people to see the big seal population that draws the sharks. Harbormasters have already issued warnings, but great white sharks are generally not a threat to humans.
Commerce in the 350-year-old town by the sea also shows evidence of nature's transformation. When sharks started coming to the town several years ago, its leaders initially feared they would lose their robust tourist economy, but visitors now see shark T-shirts everywhere. Local shops also sell candy, stuffed animals, beverages and jewelry with shark themes.
"When you have lemons, you make lemonade, and this was one of the great opportunities to do so," commercial fisherman and gallery owner Shareen Davis said. She is a descendant of an original family that settled in Chatham in the 1600s. According to other business owners, they have probably grown around 500 percent of shark apparel sales. The hoodies, T-shirts, belts, hats, dog collars and accessories are torpedo-shaped great white sharks and sell from $10 to $45.
Tagging great white sharks to aid research is expensive, with a radio tag costing $7,000. A safari for shark spotting to raise funds for the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy is offered. "If somebody wanted to do the [shark viewing] trip, they'd donate to the conservancy, tax deductible," said a resident who pointed out that private charters are not available. Tourists can also look through coin-operated binoculars, hoping to see a shark fin from the Chatham beaches.
Great white sharks used to be less frequent in New England seas but gray seals, their main food source, have returned in large packs so the great white sharks draw closer to shore. Fishermen almost wiped out the seals decades ago because seals snatched their fish. However, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 prohibited the killing of seals and since then, their population has increased.
