Rescued Great White Shark Detected Off Cape Cod
A great white shark that made headlines earlier in the summer after it was rescued from a Cape Cod beach has been detected once again in the region, proving that the young predator continues to frequent the area after surviving its unusual ordeal.
The announcement was made by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy on Wednesday through Twitter. As the Cape Cod Times reports, the non-profit acknowledged that the great white shark was detected by a receiver off Provincetown on August 12. The shark was fitted with an acoustic tag during its rescue, which signals monitoring buoys that pepper the region whenever the white shark approaches close enough.
Guess who’s still alive and swimmin’? Jameson, the rescued shark, detected by the Provincetown receiver on 8/12/15!!! http://t.co/l4zYJVetLH
— Atlantic White Shark (@A_WhiteShark) August 20, 2015
Named Jameson by researchers, the shark made international headlines when it was stranded on a sandbar in Chatham, near the barrier breach on South Beach, as WCVB reports. The July 13 incident was filmed, as beachgoers worked to keep the shark wet until rescuers arrived on scene. Their actions saved the great white’s life, and after a team that included Dr. Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the Chatham Harbormaster pulled the shark into the water, they were able to revive it. Despite the rescue, it was believed the white shark had only a 50 percent chance of surviving the stranding.
.@MassDMF‘s John Chisholm identified Monday’s breaching shark as ‘Lumpy’ (originally ID’d and catalogued last year). pic.twitter.com/XrewaYCDvU — Atlantic White Shark (@A_WhiteShark) August 20, 2015
On July 17, Dr. Skomal downloaded data from a buoy near Old Southway inlet in Chatham that revealed Jameson’s presence, proving the white shark had indeed survived. Over the course of the ensuing weeks, the great white shark was detected numerous times by buoys in the region, giving researchers a further look into its habits and demonstrating that it remained in the area. The Old Southway inlet buoy was the closest one to the beach where the shark was stranded, though researchers towed the animal a mile out to sea before it was revived and released.
Swim On! Rescued Great #WhiteShark Likely Still Alive http://t.co/t0Fj4hpAn0 @LiveScience @A_WhiteShark @MassDMF pic.twitter.com/mbNXuhe344
— OCEARCH (@OCEARCH) August 17, 2015
The conservancy is currently engaged in a population study examining the white sharks that congregate each year off Cape Cod. Last year, the conservancy was able to document 68 different great white sharks off the cape, tagging 18 of them.
[Photo by Hein Waschefort – Own Work via Creative Commons | CC-BY-SA-3.0]
