WHITE SHARKS – THE EXPERTS

GREG SKOMAL – Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

Greg is the worlds expert on the movements of Atlantic White sharks. He is a senior fisheries scientist at Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and has spent the majority of his life researching the behaviour of sharks and how to relay that information into public safety.

MEGAN WINTON – ATLANTIC WHITE SHARK CONSERVANCY

Megan is a staff scientist at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. Megan’s fifteen-year career has led to a Ph.D. at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology.  She currently works in Cape Cod, studying, tracking, and ultimately, collecting invaluable data on the great white shark at AWSC.

HEATHER BOWLBY – FISHERIES & OCEANS CANADA, BEDFORD INSTITUTE

Over the last 15 years Heather’s has focused her work on understanding changes in population dynamics for species of conservation concern. This collaboration with Greg Skomal and Megan Winton is both unique and exciting.

“We are building the foundation to describe the critical habitat for the great white shark in Canada” says Heather Bowlby from Canadian Atlantic Shark Research Laboratory, Bedford Institute of Oceanorgraphy.

WARREN JOYCE– FISHERIES OCEANS CANADA, BEDFORD INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY

Warren works closely with Helen Bowlby at the Canadian Atlantic Shark Research Laboratory. He is chiefly an Aquatic Fisheries Technician based at Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth.

WHY DID THE CANADIAN SHARK ATTACK HAPPEN?

“Firstly, although I can’t say with a hundred percent certainty that this was an incident created by a white shark, I’m very confident that it was.  Secondly, this is a lot of evidence. There’s plenty of seals here in Canada and so the habitat is ideal for white sharks.  Also, we’ve got an eyewitness account!  They saw a dark fin, you know, as far as I’m concerned, this was a white shark attack.  And because it made a bad decision, it’s likely it was a juvenile shark, an inexperienced shark.” Greg Skomal, Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries

UNIQUE SCIENCE- WHITE SHARKS AND THEIR EXPEDITION TO CANADA

In a unique 12 day expedition, the Canadian/ US white shark team spot their first shark off Wedgeport, Nova Scotia. Seen within hours, the shark is a juvenile 9 foot female, and new to the Atlantic White Shark database. Then, when the team reviewed the camera’s, there was not one, but two sharks!

Days later, Megan and Warren check the receivers dotted along the Nova Scotia coastline and detect White Shark 9142. It’s another 9-footer called Ashville, tagged in North Carolina. Amazingly, three more white sharks are also detected, and just as the expedition is coming to a close, the team get a camera tag on another 9-foot great white shark they nick-named, Quody. She’s also new to the data base.

“We thought it was quite amazing how many sharks we saw up here in such a short time. This is the first glimpse of what white sharks up to in Canadian water.  This year there were 78 individuals, which is the most we have seen in Canada since we started monitoring.” Heather Bowlby

This is undeniable evidence that Canada is a great white shark hot spot, particularly for inexperienced, juvenile sharks. Significantly, it may explain why Canada witnessed its first shark bite in 150 years.

“These sharks are spreading out almost throughout Canadian waters.  Basically, This is an ancient animal,  it’s been around for millions of years.  It’s a survivor because it can adapt and it will continue to adapt.  Undoubtedly, we’re going to keep seeing white sharks off Canada, and quite possibly we’ll see more” says Greg Skomal

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