Here's what increased human encounters with sharks in the United States mean

Human encounters with sharks have increased in recent times in the United States. Shark sightings and cases of shark bites have led to temporary closures of tourist locations along beaches. Does it mean that there has been an increase in the shark population off US coasts? Well, the answer may be yes.

According to a report by CNN, experts feel that longtime conservation efforts for sharks have fared well for the ocean creatures and they are rebounding slowly after years of decline in their numbers.

“Sharks are coming back. Their numbers are growing,” said Dr. Bob Hueter, chief scientist for OCEARCH, a nonprofit ocean research and education organization.

“They’re not overpopulated, they’re not even probably close to what they were back in the 1940s and 1950s. But they are making a comeback,” added Hueter.

Conservation efforts for sharks in the US in last few decades

After the 1960s, shark numbers began declining in the US due to overfishing, loss of habitat and other causes. By 1980s, nearly two-thirds of shark populations in American oceans had been wiped out, according to Hueter. Conservation efforts like the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 led to protection of animals like gray seals which form part of sharks' diet. In 1997, the US established the prohibited shark species group, which disallowed the possession, sale and purchase of several shark species.

“These measures were put into place and now here we are 30 years later, and we are seeing the resurgence of not only the white shark but also many of the other species. The fact is, we’re resetting our oceans and we’re restoring ecological balance by bringing these animals back.” explained Hueter.

However, globally the situation for sharks remains problematic as every year, humans kill 73 to 100 million sharks for their fins, according to the Shark Research Institute.

Lifeguard sighting records

“We’ve looked at lifeguard sighting records over the last 25 years and we’ve noticed in the last 10 years, numbers of shark sightings have gone up,” said Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach.

“I’ve talked to pilots, either helicopter or fixed-wing pilots, that have been flying over Southern California for decades. They all tell me they have never seen more sharks in their life than they have in the last eight to 10 years,” he explained.

Connection between shark numbers and shark bites

According to experts, sharks avoid humans and more number of sharks shouldn't be a big concern for our safety.

“If sharks … wanted to bite people, I think we’d probably have about between 10 and 20,000 shark bites a day. But they spend their entire time trying to avoid us,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida.

Researchers from Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach did a study to know if more sharks in the waters mean a higher bite rate. In recent times, they flew drones over 26 southern California beaches once a month for roughly two years. They found that humans and sharks were, more often than not, swimming peacefully just feet away from each other.

“At those sites, people and sharks were together 97% of the days that we surveyed. On a given survey day, there were probably half a dozen to a dozen times when a juvenile white shark was within 60 feet of a person in the water,” said Lowe, who co-authored the study.

Mantra for peaceful co-existence

Use of drones to keep an eye on sharks in waters where humans go to swim, is proving to be a great way to avoid cases of shark bites. On a personal level, to avoid conflict with sharks, humans should stay in clear water and avoid swimming and venturing into areas with low visibility.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.