CHATHAM – The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has expanded their Shark Smart Beach program that was piloted at Lighthouse Beach in Chatham last year.
The program aims to educate people about the presence of sharks in the waters around Cape Cod and the public safety initiatives related to them.
The expansion includes a new pop-up tent staffed by AWSC interns and includes information on sharks at Nauset Beach, Coast Guard Beach, Marconi Beach, and Newcomb Hollow.
Cynthia Wigren, CEO of the AWSC, said that last year’s version of the program was started at the request of the Town of Chatham, whose town staff would frequently be asked shark and shark research related questions from residents and visitors.
“We developed the program in the response to that so that we could put interns from the Conservancy who are trained with all the right information out to address public questions. It’s really great to be set up at the public beaches, so that people who are coming to the beaches where the sharks are can be provided with information right from our team,” said Wigren.
The interns will be responsible for presenting the program to the public as well as maintaining the AWSC gear and education props.
Wigren said that there is a lot of curiosity in the public for sharks and the Conservancy wants to provide accurate information.
“Everybody, whether they are fearful or fascinated by White sharks, they want to know more about them. That’s part of our mission, to provide that information. So we really are excited about being able to expand that program and partner with towns and the National Seashore on it,” said Wigren.
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