Cape Cod learns to live with sharks

Cape Cod is learning to coexist with great white sharks as their seasonal presence reshapes beach life. In July, 55-year-old Nicole Sweeney, who visits the Massachusetts area every summer, said sharks have become unavoidable—on souvenirs and in warning signs and shark-flag alerts. The shift has been driven by a resurgence in the seal population, making the waters from the northern tip of the Outer Cape down past Chatham a prime place to see white sharks near shore in summer and autumn. The return follows gray-seal recovery after the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. Marine biologist Greg Skomal says tracking shows fewer swimmers far from shore. While incidents include bites in 2012 and 2018, the surge has also boosted safety-related awareness and shark-spotting tours.