Sharks are not afraid of people, but want to be near them: predators are increasingly coming to crowded noisy beaches

Record coastline sightings and shark attacks in 2022 - around New York and other East Coast states - may not be a coincidence or a viral myth: contrary to popular belief, these oceanic predators have indeed become frequent waters near crowded urban areas, reports New York Post.

Photo: IStock

The new study was conducted by the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami in Florida.

“We were surprised to find that the sharks we tracked spend so much time near the lights and sounds of a busy city — often close to shore — regardless of the time of day,” said Neil Hammerschlag, director of the University of Miami’s Shark Research and Conservation Program. , who led the shocking study published in the Marine Ecology Progress Series.

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“We really thought that because studies of large land predators have shown that wolves, bears and other large land predators tend to avoid large cities,” he said. “But this is not the case with sharks.”

The team concluded that the behavior of the sharks being tracked resembled that of "urban adapters" or animals that may use cities to some extent but are still dependent on more natural areas. FOX13. Examples of these animal types include coyotes, marmots, and opossums.

Hammerschlag wanted to find out if sharks are like these land-based predators that avoid densely populated areas in the face of growing urbanization around the world.

To find out if this was the case, the scientists tracked the movement of the sharks using a technique called passive acoustic telemetry. In particular, scientists have equipped three different types of sharks - blunt sharks, baleen nurse sharks and giant hammerhead sharks - with transmitters that emit ultrasound.

They were then linked to underwater "listening stations" off the coast of Miami and the Florida Keys, which collected data on shark activity.

“When a shark swims within a few hundred meters of one of these tracking stations, this transmitter picks up its movements and records the information that the shark swam past that location,” Hammerschlag said.

The researchers found that the sharks "spent quite a lot of time near what we call urban areas."

“These sharks were cruising up and down the coastline in areas where you know there are people swimming in the ocean,” the conservationist said. “And we saw this, you know, even from aerial drones.” "On Miami Beach, people were swimming and didn't know there were sharks swimming around them, which is pretty crazy."

It is not clear why sharks prefer to visit areas of the metropolis, but scientists suggest that they get used to the sounds of the city. Another theory is that these aquatic city slickers are attracted to terrestrial activities such as anglers throwing away fish carcasses.

In light of these findings, the idea of ​​going to the city beach may be reminiscent of the plot of Jaws. However, Hammerschlag says the discovery should reassure the public given the relatively low number of attacks.

“Even though it might make you a little nervous, to me it just goes to show that sharks, you know, really don't want to bite people and that sharks actually do tolerate people and try to avoid them,” the shark lover insisted. “And it just goes to show that when it comes to sharks, humans aren’t the only thing on the menu.”

In fact, according to Hammerschlag, this habit of crowding is "probably worse for sharks than it is for us."

"By spending so much time offshore, sharks are at risk of being exposed to toxic pollutants as well as fishing, which can affect their health and survival," the scientist explained in a statement from the University of Miami.
The study suggested that sharks may be attracted to coastal areas due to land-based activities such as dumping of fish carcasses by local businesses and fishermen. The researchers noted several marinas located along the North Bay coastline of Biscayne Bay, which surrounds the Miami metropolitan area.

“At these marinas, anglers returning from a day of fishing routinely discard fish carcasses after removing fillets, even in marinas with regulations prohibiting fish discard,” the study noted. “Sharks are regularly seen in marinas feeding on the carcasses of these fish, which may attract or congregate sharks in these areas.”
The authors of the study also hypothesized that the different behavior of marine and terrestrial predators in crowded cities may be due to "fundamental differences in how urbanization affects land versus ocean landscapes."

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However, the findings do coincide with a number of attacks and sightings near communities along the east coast.

Just last week, two people were attacked by sharks in the waters off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with one victim requiring hundreds of stitches after the brutal attack.

The International Shark Attack File of the Florida Museum of Natural History investigated 137 alleged shark-human interactions in 2021 and confirmed that 73 cases were unprovoked shark attacks. The US has the most unprovoked shark attacks with 47 confirmed cases, followed by Australia with 12 and Brazil with three.

Meanwhile, New York waters have seen a significant spike in shark attacks, including six off Long Island in July alone.

Last year, Florida had the most unprovoked attacks nationwide, with 28 cases (or 60% of the total in the US and 38% of the total worldwide).
Most shark attacks are surf-related and the chances of being bitten are still "extremely low," according to the International Shark Attack File. It offers instructions on what to do if you encounter a shark.

According to a study published in 2020, about 11% of the world's population currently lives within about 10 km of the coast, and about 40% of the world's population lives within 100 km of the coast.

As wildlife becomes "increasingly challenging due to a rapidly changing world," the paper notes how much more urban ecology research is needed on the topic.

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