On Cape, a Needed Rest for Shark: Rescuers Nudge it Closer to Freedom

October 4, 2004

Release from:
By Paysha Stockton, Globe Correspondent
Boston Globe

The great white shark trapped in a Woods Hole bay got a rest over the weekend, after fishermen and state marine specialists nudged it past a sand bar and lagoon Friday afternoon.

"Today is a little break for our friend in the pond," Greg Skomal, a state marine biologist, said yesterday during a meeting with local fishermen recruited to help herd the shark back into open sea.

The 14-foot, 1,700-pound female shark remained trapped in a shallow pond off Naushon Island yesterday evening, just 100 feet from freedom.

Rescuers also allowed the shark to rest Saturday, after a full day of prodding with nets, water hoses, and electric currents. Yesterday's windy weather necessitated extending the break, Skomal said.

"It doesn't really break my heart, because it gives her a rest," he said. "We're scheming the next part of the plan."

Specialists with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries planned to meet today to decide how to move forward, said Jennifer Flagg, spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.

Skomal said the shark, whose fin was reportedly listing this week, appears healthy. Scientists believe it entered the lagoon looking for food and became trapped behind shallows created by a sandbar. The shark was first spotted by a skipper almost two weeks ago and has drawn national attention from scientists, fisherman, reporters, and tourists.

Many people have traveled to the bay in boats, hoping to glimpse the shark's fin. But they can't get too close: Environmental police and the Coast Guard are maintaining a 1,000-yard buffer around the pond where the shark is trapped, Skomal said.

Researchers have attached a satellite tag to the shark's tail that will track its location, depth, and temperature once it swims free.

The shark still must pass through a shoal of eel grass, Flagg said. It has thus far avoided doing so, and spent much of Friday trying to swim back into the lagoon.

"I can understand why she's reluctant," Flagg said. "She's not a giraffe. She can't see what's on the other side."

Flagg said the shark is swimming in 3 to 4 feet of water. Scientists hope it will swim out, during high tide, on its own.

Fishermen's weirs, strung across the pond, remain in place, blocking it from swimming back into the lagoon, she said.

Scientists have said they could take more dramatic action if the shark does not leave on its own, such as tranquilizing it and towing it out. They say they cannot leave the shark there because it could harm people trying to get close to it.