Cape Cod Lifeguards Will Continue Educating Swimmers After Shark Attacks
EASTHAM (CBS)- It wasn't the best beach day at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham on Tuesday. Nonetheless, there was a lone swimmer in the water, and he said sharks weren't going to stop him.
"Oh yea, I'm always going to be cautious, but I'm not going to stop doing what I love to do just because of sharks," the swimmer said.
In the past month, two swimmers have been attacked by white sharks on Outer Cape beaches, one was killed. It's now prompting some beachgoers to ask: What is being done?
"Our lifeguards spend a lot of their time educating the public about sharks and shark safety, and we are going to continue doing that, and looking for other ways we can get the word out," Brian Calstrom, the Superintendent of the Cape Cod National Seashore said.
The number of white sharks has increased dramatically in recent years because the seal population has exploded.
From Chatham to Provincetown there is an estimated thirty to fifty thousand seals, according to a Duke University study.
Some are wondering about protective netting, or drones.
"In order for that to be effective, the water has to be fairly clear," Calstrom said.
The seal population cannot be "thinned out," because they are federally-protected, it would take an act of congress to start doing that.
