WELLFLEET – An Outer Cape organization does not want to wait until 2020 to begin testing shark mitigation technology in local waters and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to start a Clever Buoy pilot program this summer.
Cape Cod Ocean Community is accepting donations through a GoFundMe campaign to purchase two buoys that use sonar technology to detect shark movements and alert beachgoers and lifeguards to the presence of sharks.
The campaign is called Arthur Clever Buoy Pilot and is named after Arthur Medici, the 26-year-old Revere man who was fatally wounded during a shark attack off Wellfleet in September.
“The Clever Buoy allows for sonar to look out into the ocean in a non-impactful manner for the sharks,” said Heather Doyle, a Wellfleet resident and campaign organizer. “It’s not a deterrent but it will simply do detection and surveillance.”
The buoys which are connected to a sonar device on the ocean floor have about a 125-foot radius for detection capabilities.
The GoFundMe campaign seeks to raise $200,000 for the pilot program this summer. The funds would be used to rent, install, monitor and remove the two Clever Buoys.
The money would also cover costs for two Smart Marine Systems employees stay on Cape Cod to monitor the system.
As of Sunday morning, the campaign had raised nearly $35,000.
Doyle believes the publicly funded pilot program is necessary because a current study being conducted by Outer Cape towns, the National Seashore and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy would not be ready to recommend mitigation efforts this summer.
“It’s unsafe. The waters are shark-infested,” Doyle said. “The guidance from the seashore and others is to not go past your knees for 2019, which we think is terrible guidance.”
Doyle said visitors who normally come to Cape Cod for the summer may decide to travel somewhere else which could hurt the economy.
“We are worried because we care about keeping things the same and we are also worried about people who came here and shared their summer commerce with us,” Doyle said. “Those folks who vacation have a choice and I don’t know if they will come anymore.”
Doyle said the Clever Buoys can help prepare Cape Cod moving forward.
“Let’s put two in. Let’s learn what we can learn about it so that as we move forward into 2020 we have some really good lessons learned and we have some practical experience to make it a wider deployment,” Doyle said. “Learning in 2019 helps 2020. If we wait until 2020 to start some of these explorations it is going to be too late.”
Doyle said they need the towns, citizens, businesses get onboard being concerned about this issues.
“The towns need to help us and enable really quick permitting,” she said.
A fundraising event featuring the Rock Harbor Band will be held April 20 at The Well and Tavern in Sail Loft on Main Street from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Admission is $20 and the event will include a light dinner buffet and raffles and silent auctions.
To make a donation towards the GoFundMe campaign, click here.
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