CHATHAM – The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy announced it has brought in equipment used to detect the presence of sharks in local waters for the season.
Officials with the group also cautioned people performing recreational activities in the ocean that sharks are still present in the area.
Along with help from the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries, the conservancy hauled out the five shark detection receivers that were located in waters off Cape Cod.
Officials said removing the receivers was a precautionary measure to maintain the equipment with hurricane season picking up.
The conversancy said each real-time receiver costs around $15,000.
The receivers provide tagging data for the conservancy’s research.
The data is also used for the conversancy’s Sharktivity app, which tracks white sharks and raises awareness about their presence in coastal waters.
The receivers will be deployed again sometime in the spring of 2023.
Officials with the conservancy said Sharktivity detections will go down with the receivers removed and less recreational boater sightings. They still urged the public to be cautious in the water.
“It is critical that individuals entering local waters be acutely aware that white shark activity off Cape Cod remains at its peak through the month of October,” the conversancy’s CEO and co-founder Cynthia Wigren said.
By Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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