This is how we can share our coasts with sharks

“CAUTION!” “WARNING!” “SEVERE BLEEDING!” Those are just a few of the signs that beachgoers encounter as they lug coolers and umbrellas through the dunes and onto the beaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, one of America’s most famous seashores.

The bright red capital letters, plastered alongside photographs of toothy sharks, are meant to warn people that sightings of great white sharks have increased along the New England coast in recent years. The predators, which can grow up to 18 feet (5.5 m) long, are attracted to gray seals, a species that has bounced back along the U.S. East Coast since the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act banned hunting of the species in 1972.

The recovery of shark prey species, coupled with an increase in beach tourism worldwide, have contributed to a gradual rise in shark bites around the globe since 1970, according to data collected by the International Shark Attack File, a database run by the Florida Museum of Natural History. But in recent years those numbers appear to be declining: There were 57 unprovoked shark bites globally in 2020, down from 66 in 2018. Ten of the bites in 2020 were fatal; although this represents a sharp increase from the average of four fatalities a year, experts say the relatively high number is likely an anomaly.

Even still, shark encounters are extremely rare, and when they do happen, sharks almost always bite people by mistake, thinking they’re a seal or another prey. Swimming is riskier if you’re sharing the waters with a shark’s natural food source. Cape Cod and Cape Town, South Africa, are “the only two places in the world where you have a high density of people, seals, and great white sharks” swimming together close to shore, says Christopher Pepin-Neff, a social scientist at the University of Sydney who studies how the public perceives sharks.

Though shark bites generate a lot of press, only three shark species account for most unprovoked bites of humans: great whites, tiger sharks, and bull sharks.

Appreciating sharks

Sharks have gotten a publicity boost in recent years, as emerging research shifts the narrative from a senseless killer to an animal that can form friendships and live for 400 years. And we know how important sharks—as keystone species that play vital roles in maintaining ocean ecosystems—are to the ocean’s health.

Shark researchers and educators are trying to help the public better understand how sharks behave—and the public seems receptive. Some researchers have suggested replacing the term “shark attacks” with “shark bites,” or more broadly, “shark encounters,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported in 2021. For instance, up to a third of shark run-ins don’t cause injury, such as when a person steps on a small, bottom-dwelling shark, the paper said.

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On Cape Cod, the Atlantic Shark Center, a museum run by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, has seen an increase of about 3,000 visitors each year since opening in 2016 (with the exception of 2020, because of decreased tourism during the pandemic), says Marianne Long, the conservancy’s education director. “The number one question that we get when people come in to see us is, ‘What beach do I have to go to to see a shark?’” adds Long. Building on that curiosity about sharks by engaging people with a narrative, experts say, may be exactly what we need to both communicate the risks and safely share our oceans with these impressive animals.

The role of drones

What if the daily weather forecast told us when our favorite beach might be particularly sharky? This isn’t as improbable as it might sound. The National Geographic show Sky Sharks: Closer Than You Think portrays how drones have revolutionized shark science and are helping researchers track the movements of sharks as they travel close to shore. These aerial views—along with analyses of factors like water temperature, the presence of predators, and whether the sharks are young or pregnant—can help us understand much more clearly when and why sharks come so close to swimmers.

Following the research of scientist Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, the show investigates seasonal surges in sightings of great white sharks along the coast of Southern California. Drone footage off the coast of Santa Barbara shows sharks coming within feet of swimmers and gliding beneath surfboards without being detected.

The sharks are nearly all babies sheltering in the shallower waters, one hypothesis being that they’re safer there from predators: orcas or adult great white sharks.

Meanwhile, a little farther south in San Diego, the dozens of regular leopard shark visitors are mostly pregnant. Like hens incubating their eggs, these mothers-to-be were possibly lured by the warmer water. The findings are scientifically compelling and have a practical application as well. Understanding the conditions that make for sharky waters could help the public be much better informed about whether a trip to the beach might call for extra precautions. Beachgoers are accustomed to alerts about rip tides or approaching storms; why not a heads-up about sharks?

“Once we understand the formula that attracts sharks,” says showrunner Jennie Hammond, “then we can get one step ahead and predict where they’re going to show up.”