Posted on 01/20/2022 12:21:06 PM PST by Capt. Tom
LOCAL NEWS Great white sharks have been a major focus along Cape Cod. More tiger sharks could be coming soon because of climate change Tiger sharks moving north ‘could have ramifications for human safety’
Tiger sharks are migrating farther north because of climate change, according to new research.
Move over, great white sharks. A new apex predator could be patrolling the Cape soon, as tiger sharks migrate farther north each year because of climate change and warmer oceans.
While waters off the Northeast have historically been too cold for tiger sharks, temps have warmed significantly in recent years and are now suitable for tiger sharks, according to researchers.
The shark scientists from the University of Miami warn that tiger sharks moving north could lead to more interactions between sharks and humans.
“Changes to where these predators go could have ramifications for human safety,” said Neil Hammerschlag, director of the Shark Research and Conservation Program at the University of Miami.
“So by moving into new locations, this could potentially increase encounter rates between tiger sharks and humans using the ocean,” he said, adding the results of the study are “alarming.”
The study from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science revealed that the locations and timing of tiger shark movement in the western North Atlantic Ocean have changed from rising ocean temperatures.
The movements of tiger sharks, the largest cold-blooded apex predator in tropical and warm-temperate seas, are constrained by the need to stay in warm waters. As the waters continue to warm in the western North Atlantic Ocean, the researchers wanted to know what that means for tiger sharks.
“Over the past 40 years, tiger shark distributions have extended further poleward along with warming waters,” Hammerschlag said. “In fact, off the northeast United States, where it was historically way too cold for tiger sharks, these waters have now warmed to suitable levels for tiger sharks and they’ve moved into those areas.”
Hammerschlag and the research team discovered these climate-driven changes by analyzing nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with nearly 40 years of conventional tag and recapture information supplied by the NOAA Cooperative Shark Tagging Program and satellite derived sea-surface temperature data.
During the last decade — when ocean temperatures were the warmest on record — for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temps above average, tiger shark migrations extended farther poleward by roughly 250 miles. Sharks also migrated about 14 days earlier to waters off the U.S. northeastern coast.
The scientists found that ocean warming has caused tiger sharks to shift their movements outside of areas that were previously protecting them from commercial fishing.
“As a result, they have become more vulnerable to commercial fishing,” Hammerschlag said.
The climate-driven changes to tiger shark movements could disrupt natural predator-prey interactions, he added, which could “lead to ecological imbalances in the ocean.”
The sharks are coming as close to shore as possible to PROTEST climate change. They are scared, very scared, because they are just as stupid as humans.
“Is a bigger boat needed?”
That depends. Will it be longer than a three-hour tour?
I am not a shark expert by any means. But I had a brown shark come at me once,(probably curious or there was a food source behind me). I was once in the water with a great white. Those are the only two I have seen, and that was a long long time ago.
We have more Bull Shark attacks here ..................
Rumor : roving packs of vicious sharks to launch a land assault on Boston in coordination with the Russians. You heard it here first!
I wonder what percentage of seals who die do so as a result of shark predation.
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That’s akin to asking how many cows die due to human predation.
“I hope that they are vaxed, wearing masks and socially distancing.”
In most states you can remove your mask when eating.
wy69
Yeah...and how about underwater volcanoes and steam vents???
Great Whites are a common sight off the coast of San Francisco, no thanks to the protected status of the Farallon Islands. As such, they’re attracted to the seals that make their home in the Farallon Islands. If the seal population starts moving north on the East Coast, it may not only attract bigger sharks but also Orca populations coming down from Canadian waters. Either way, the seals are going to be hunted down in a big way.
So, where's their damn data?
When they get there, let us know. Then it will be news.
Thanks for the tip! I’m putting a Tiger Shark skin interior in my next street rod build, and am a little short on fabric.
Oh, and thanks global warming!
Here we go again. Blame everything including things that may not happen on global warming.
Large tiger shark was caught off of Ocean City, Maryland in 1983. A replica sits at the end of our boardwalk.
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=66529
“This record 1,210 pound Tiger Shark was caught in the waters off Ocean City, Maryland by Grace Czemiak of Buffalo, New York. The shark was caught on July 9, 1983 while fishing aboard the LISA with Captain Stuart Windsor and Mate Jim Liberto.
Mrs. Czemiak was using an 80 pound test line and a 5/8” stainless steel shank baited with mackerel when the fish took the hook. She fought the shark for 3 ½ hours before bringing it along side of the LISA. At that time the fish was caught, Czermiak was fishing 27 miles off the coast in 22 fathoms of water. There were no scales large enough to weight this enormous fish in Ocean City. It was transported to the Showell Poultry complex in Showell, Maryland and there weighed on scales which accommodate tractor trailers.”
Hooper : Ah. Just like I thought... He came up with the Gulf Stream - from southern waters.
[he pulls a Louisiana license plate from the shark. Brody examines it]
Brody : He didn’t eat a car, did he?
Hooper : Naw, a tiger shark’s like a garbage can, it’ll eat anything. Someone probably threw that in a river.
If a restaurant doesn't properly secure its food waste, it will attract rats. A food source attracts that which eats it.
For me, my enjoyment comes just from watching them die. The eating is secondary.
Most states don’t have sharks among the population. :-) Snakes are a whole ‘nother story, though.
In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.
Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been over shadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.
The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.
I’d invite as many sharks as want to come and dine upon Massachusetts voters...
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