Cape Cod Shark Resort: Chatham Inn Offers Research Trips With White Shark Conservancy


A Cape Cod resort has partnered with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy to offer visitors to the region a unique opportunity to join scientists as they study the great white population that makes its home off the coast each summer.

The Chatham Bars Inn, a four-star resort, according to Forbes, celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, after opening as a luxury hunting lodge in 1914. Their new partnership with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy will allow guests and visitors to the cape to join shark researchers aboard their vessel as they document the area’s yearly great white population. Working with a spotter plane, the researchers catalog and photograph the sharks, while attempting to affix tags which allow them to track the animals.

The research trips will be offered from August through October, between Mondays and Thursdays. For a $2,500 donation to the conservancy (non-refundable, weather permitting, and tax-deductible), a couple can spend an entire day on the research vessel. While sharks can’t be guaranteed for obvious reasons, the researchers were able to track and tag 68 great whites last summer.

Less expensive options are available to guests who don’t wish to spend an entire day on the ocean. “Receiver Excursions” will allow visitors to join a researcher as they venture into the harbor to examine a receiver that allows them to track the sharks. The hour-long trips will take place on the Chatham Bars Inn’s private boat, Bartender, which will also visit seal population centers in an effort to spot evidence of shark predation. Each Monday through Thursday, research vessels will dock at the resort, where scientists will give a complimentary hour-long lecture detailing the day’s efforts. Other options are also available for conference groups.

Earlier this month, a meeting was held between South Shore and Cape coastal community officials, according to the Carver Reporter, where the soon-to-be returning shark population was discussed. Division of Marine Fisheries Program Manager Dr. Greg Skomal provided updates on research while the conservancy’s Cynthia Wigren spoke about the need to raise funds for research purposes.

Last summer, the White Shark Conservancy was able to not only tag numerous sharks, but also document them with stunning aerial images. As the Inquisitr previously reported, one of those photographs was described as a “holy grail” of shark images, as it depicted a predation event in detail.

The Cape Cod resort will begin offering the first of its shark-themed outings in July.

[Image: Atlantic White Shark Conservancy via the Carver Reporter]

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