Welcome to Cape Cod...shark capital of the world!
Well...it feels like that anyway! Everywhere you look, on any outlet you're on, whether it's TV, radio, newspapers or the internet...there is another story about more shark visits to the waters around the Cape. I know this has been happening for a while now...but this year seems like the publicity is greater than ever! When we talk about summertime being the tourist season on Cape Cod...I guess it's not just the people we're talking about anymore!
And we all know the history of why scientists think they're hear...paraphrasing an old Clinton presidential campaign phrase, "It's the food, stupid!" Our seal population in Cape waters, especially near Monomoy Island, continues to grow. The seals bring the sharks...and there you go! And now, it seems like he sharks may be starting to bring more orcas...which consider sharks a tasty treat! It's like a whole food chain experiment happening right off our coast!
So, this brings me to a friendly argument I was having with a buddy last week about whether all this shark activity is good or bad for the Cape economy. He lives on the outer Cape, and he took the "good" side...saying that tourism has seemed to have increased from people whose curiosity to see the sharks lurking around in the water brings them over the bridge for a visit.
I took the "bad" side...with my thoughts being that families may think that having Jaws cuddling up to them while they are trying to splash and play on Cape Cod beaches doesn't sound like the best idea in the world!
I know that people way smarter than me are trying to work on some solutions on how we can all co-exist together...Cape Codders, sharks, tourists and the economy!
But until then...what do you think of the shark question on the Cape...good for the economy or bad for the economy?
Photo: Getty Images