photo: On June 20th, pilot Wayne Davis, working with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, witnessed an 11-foot white shark feeding on a seal 300 yards off Monomoy, Cape Cod.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC) has unveiled Sharktivity, a new shark sighting app.
The app can be used for tracking shark sightings and shark activity. Additionally, users can report their own shark sightings, allowing the community to become ‘citizen scientists’ and provide valuable data for researchers who are trying to better understand the animals and their habits. And, with the summer season now in full swing on Cape Cod, Sharktivity’s ability for the general public to both get and give alerts on shark activity near bathing beaches will be extremely valuable.
Staff from the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, Cape Cod National Seashore, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and towns from throughout Cape Cod and the South Shore provided input on this app.The app, launching July 1, is free to the public and although currently only available on Apple products, plans are in the works for an Android app as well. Sharktivity comes about from the generosity of two socially responsible businesses – Everglades Boats and Amelia Rose Designs.
“At Everglades, we know that safety is an important part of any day on the water. We also know that each time we venture out we’re entering a delicate ecosystem – an environment that plays an important role in supporting our favorite pastimes. That’s why we’ve partnered with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy– an organization dedicated to preserving today’s oceans for generations to come,” said Tom Flocco, CEO of Everglades Boats. “Our future depends on the health of the ocean and the preservation of Apex predators. The AWSC does just that, and we are proud to support them.”
Whether you’re a huge shark fan or a wary Cape Cod beachgoer, exposure to real and real-time information about sharks will be a very powerful educational tool.
“We’re still in a place where not much is known about sharks, but what is known is completely contrary to what is portrayed in the popular culture, which falsely perpetuates paranoia and myths about great white sharks,” explained Cynthia Wigren, Executive Director of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. “What is so fascinating about the animal is that it is a large, powerful, apex predator we share the water with and it is incredibly rare that incidents ever take place.”