Cape Cod diving

[Rick1956]

I have lived on Cape most of my life. I used to surf here, used to dive a lot here. I decided a couple years ago it was too risky. When I was in high school, early 70’s, a large group of seals would have made the newspaper. Now with an estimated population of over 30,000 seals it is impossible to go out to the ocean beaches and not see a seal. I have witnessed a shark carving up his lunch. It’s extremely violent. The thought of dressing up like a seal and diving in poor visibility (which is the norm) has kinda taken the fun out of it. Friends who commercial bass fish tell me there are a lot more sharks out there than most people think. I’ve seen blue sharks fairly frequently when diving Nantucket Sound and it never really bothered me, and I love the reef sharks in the Caribbean. But the GW, I’ll pass. We’ll see how this shakes out with tourists. It’s not cheap to vacation here and not possibly being able to go in the water might be a deal breaker. Virtually all beaches now have warning signs. The beach in Wellfleet where the young man was killed has been “closed until further notice “. That being said, check out the picture on the front page of the CC Times today. It’s a surfer with a seal riding the wave next to him, about 6’ away. Dinner is served..‘We all knew this day would come’ - Cape Cod Times

 

[Scuba-74]

I have lived on Cape most of my life. I used to surf here, used to dive a lot here. I decided a couple years ago it was too risky. When I was in high school, early 70’s, a large group of seals would have made the newspaper. Now with an estimated population of over 30,000 seals it is impossible to go out to the ocean beaches and not see a seal. I have witnessed a shark carving up his lunch. It’s extremely violent. The thought of dressing up like a seal and diving in poor visibility (which is the norm) has kinda taken the fun out of it. Friends who commercial bass fish tell me there are a lot more sharks out there than most people think. I’ve seen blue sharks fairly frequently when diving Nantucket Sound and it never really bothered me, and I love the reef sharks in the Caribbean. But the GW, I’ll pass. We’ll see how this shakes out with tourists. It’s not cheap to vacation here and not possibly being able to go in the water might be a deal breaker. Virtually all beaches now have warning signs. The beach in Wellfleet where the young man was killed has been “closed until further notice “. That being said, check out the picture on the front page of the CC Times today. It’s a surfer with a seal riding the wave next to him, about 6’ away. Dinner is served..‘We all knew this day would come’ - Cape Cod Times

I was at the Cape (bay side) yesterday, an saw 3 seals and a sea otter hanging out within feet of the beach. Still, bay side I dove solo several times this summer, it's all good. Ocean side though, I'll pass, thank you.

EDIT: in the hind sight, I'm not sure if it was a sea otter, but some creature that stayed on its back with head and flippers sticking out of the water. Smaller than an average seal. Was hanging out at one spot, then when a dude with mask and snorkel came close, reluctantly swam couple of hundred feet to the side and continued to hang out there.

Here is a sharktivity map for last 30 days.

 

[Jeff Godfrey]

Great diving!

Here is a link to a video I took off of Nauset several years ago,
Here is a link to a picture that a buddy of mine took on the same wreck this year.
Atlantic White Shark Conservancy

Guess what did that.

Personally I have no problems diving on the wrecks up there from a boat. You probable could not get me in past my knees from the shore and that's OK, I really don't like shore diving anyway.

 

[tkaelin]

News story on air last night and in the paper today spoke about what to do with great whites, seals and attacks. Nets, drones, more air and water patrols mentioned and the need for better cell service at and down on the beaches covered. No one yet speaking publicly about reducing the food source. "Adjusting" to the new reality discussed which sounds like beach closings and/or swim at your own risk type of thinking.

 

[falcon125]

Sounds like the cottage on the Cape just got affordable.

 

[tkaelin]

Should be interesting. I see some parallels with those opposing a grizzly hunting season out west, I think in Wyoming. There was some pretty nasty online posts after the mauling by a grizzly of a guide by those who oppose hunting in general, on grizzlies in this instance. I am curious if the same thinking and sentiments will apply when it is their beaches that are permanently closed to swimming because of another apex predator.

 

[Salt]

Good piece in the Guardian recently

Echoes of Jaws as Cape Cod learns to live with rise of the great white shark

 

[Steelyeyes]

Maybe once the great whites get the seal population corrected the fish population will rebound a bit, and fewer seals will not attract as many sharks in the future.

 

[Scuba-74]

I'm a little concerned that my son is planning to lifeguard there this coming summer.

 

[formernuke]

How about we realize we are land animals. The seals and sharks are part of a delicate ecosystem and we need to stay out of it and let mother nature reach equilibrium.


Other than that who has a shark cage?