peternile / Depositphotos.com
It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that there are sharks around the coast of Nova Scotia. There have been sharks around probably longer than we’ve been around. There just seems to be a few more of them lately.
And yes, the fact that people have been tagging them, white sharks in particular, means we can click on an app and find out where they are. Before that, we may never know where sharks are hanging out. There have also been a couple of attacks over the past little while, so there could be more of them around.
White sharks were in danger of being fished out of existence not long ago. They became protected about thirty years ago, and are now starting to increase in numbers a bit. Ocean waters are also getting a bit warmer, so they are moving further north. And the seal population has exploded in this area, so that means there’s plenty of shark food around. And plenty of teenage sharks. From what I understand, smaller sharks don’t eat mammals. When they get a bit bigger, they transition over to larger prey, including seals. Which means you get a bunch of teenage sharks just starting to figure out what might be good to eat. To them, a thing splashing around in the water is possible food. They haven’t figured out which is a seal and what’s a person, so it’s all fair game.
But all this adds up to more sharks around. Or at least more that we known about.
The province is intending to put up warning signs at a few beaches, letting people know that there may be sharks around, and to not swim when seals are around and a few other pointers. Hopefully it will be something that people keep in mind, but it probably isn’t something that should keep you out of the water. Unless the beach is loaded with seals. That would be one of the signs. If seals are getting out of the water, it’s probably not a good idea to get in.
But last night I happened to be watching Liverpool harbour for a bit. Every now and then, the water would kind of explode with fish jumping around. Looked like the mackerel were running. There were cormorants chasing them. And further out, I spotted a couple heads bobbing around. There were seals not far away. Sharks might be out there, but none that came by to introduce themselves. Which was fine by me.
But I guess it’s one of those things we just have to be aware of. As I say, it’s not likely to keep me out of the water, especially when the temperature is as warm as we’re expecting form the next couple days. But I may keep an eye out for seals.
