Whitey payed me a visit

[SalmonAndStriper Stalker]

Was fishing the pogie schools off of Plymouth when a 8ft white shark decided to pay me a visit. Tried to get a photo but he stayed too deep and the suns glare was horrendous.

[westernmas]

That's pretty cool!  Seem to be seeing more and more sightings of them.  There was a video on the news of one snatching someones catch over the weekend.

[lowaccord66]

That's cool!

Friends of mine have watched them eat seals on the outer cape.  I hate seals.  Wish more whites would eat them.

[CMD1987]

That's cool!

Friends of mine have watched them eat seals on the outer cape.  I hate seals.  Wish more whites would eat them.

Lol - not trying to hijack - but poor seals, they get a bad rap, just repopulating the area to levels they should be at historically - I’m not a seal hugger, just seems they belong, happy to have them back (I am the only fisherman that feels this way lol)

[lowaccord66]

I'd have the same sentiments if the stripers they eat were not in danger of collapse.  Their numbers though have caused a dramatic effect on a few of my trips but I guess that's how it goes.

[westernmas]

I'd have the same sentiments if the stripers they eat were not in danger of collapse.  Their numbers though have caused a dramatic effect on a few of my trips but I guess that's how it goes.

Jon, I couldn't agree more.  Seals have chased me out of the canal on several occasions.  There are not enough predators to control the seal populations and the top of the food chain is not allowed to cull any because they are federally protected.  Due to the migratory nature of the seals the feds claim that if the grey seal numbers are reduced then harbor seals in canada will fill the void.  It seems like something needs to be done but I'm not marine scientist.  I just play one on the internet 

[Jethro]

Lol - not trying to hijack - but poor seals, they get a bad rap, just repopulating the area to levels they should be at historically - I’m not a seal hugger, just seems they belong, happy to have them back (I am the only fisherman that feels this way lol)

Yep, it's hilarious... measures are made to bring back the seal population and guess what- the sharks come with them, so now everyone is freaked out about the sharks! Just can't win.

[taxid]

Try being a fish farmer when states reintroduce fish predators. A friend in southern Illinois lost $30,000 worth of large bass on his fish farm last year to otters that were recently introduced to a nearby reservoir. State told him it's not their problem and to basically go pound sand. They go after the biggest fish too. Wicked smart and show up at night and irregularly. I feel sorry for him as he has a condition that causes cluster headaches and other symptoms that even the Mayo Clinic can't figure out. So he has enough to deal with. No trappers are interesting in trapping them live.

My state is also has reintroduced Ospreys.

So I'm seeing more and more ospreys, but fortunately I have a way to keep them out of the trout pond although they occasionally fly off with a fish from my warmwater pond.  Up to three ospreys now.  The following is labor intensive but it works.



I'm actually hoping to see a bald eagle at some point because I'm not worried about the catching many fish as they aren't nearly as good at it as an Osprey.

[CMD1987]

Yep, it's hilarious... measures are made to bring back the seal population and guess what- the sharks come with them, so now everyone is freaked out about the sharks! Just can't win.

Happy to have the sharks too! Thin out the crowds on the cape!

[taxid]

Happy to have the sharks too! Thin out the crowds on the cape!

 

Sharks really got hammered after the movie Jaws came out. It's amazing how ignorant people can be.

[Fishermantim]

The tree huggers got the seals protected and it brought their numbers up exponentially.
There are quite a few beaches now that are seal rookeries (breeding grounds)

So the seal numbers continued to increase....and then the ground fish populations around the areas the seals inhabit dropped like a stone.
No problem, they just imposed stricter regulations on fishermen for the ground fish species.

Then the sharks started showing up. First it was a rarity, and then somewhat uncommon, and now it's a regular annual event.
The sharks showed up, but because of the varied ages/sizes of the sharks, they don't all eat seals.
Juvenile GW's eat a lot of fish, and have made their presence known as fish-stealing thieves.

Still, the seals are protected, so are the sharks, and the anglers and swimmers are the ones that have stricter regulations.

Now in the glorious world of the ocean food chain, the only natural predator capable of taking on the Great Whites are starting to make their presence known here in New England, and it will further add to the restrictions we will have to endure for all these "protected" species.

Oh, and the top of the food chain belongs to the Killer Whales / Orcas.....

[zwiggles]

People are seeing orcas of the coast again? That would be quite the site to see on this side of the country. I used to read stories about them coming down and horrifying schools of Atlantic’s and BF’s which I always thought was neat.

[taxid]

People are seeing orcas of the coast again? That would be quite the site to see on this side of the country. I used to read stories about them coming down and horrifying schools of Atlantic’s and BF’s which I always thought was neat.

https://www.wbur.org/news/2016/07/05/chatham-orca

[CMD1987]

The tree huggers got the seals protected and it brought their numbers up exponentially.
There are quite a few beaches now that are seal rookeries (breeding grounds)

So the seal numbers continued to increase....and then the ground fish populations around the areas the seals inhabit dropped like a stone.
No problem, they just imposed stricter regulations on fishermen for the ground fish species.

Then the sharks started showing up. First it was a rarity, and then somewhat uncommon, and now it's a regular annual event.
The sharks showed up, but because of the varied ages/sizes of the sharks, they don't all eat seals.
Juvenile GW's eat a lot of fish, and have made their presence known as fish-stealing thieves.

Still, the seals are protected, so are the sharks, and the anglers and swimmers are the ones that have stricter regulations.

Now in the glorious world of the ocean food chain, the only natural predator capable of taking on the Great Whites are starting to make their presence known here in New England, and it will further add to the restrictions we will have to endure for all these "protected" species.

Oh, and the top of the food chain belongs to the Killer Whales / Orcas.....

You just described exactly what the food chain should be around here before humans stepped in and killed all the seals - seals and sharks belong here in large numbers - the seals/sharks don’t put a dent in the fisheries - lets be clear, the largest reason any given fish population is down is OVERFISHiNG by humans....

And the “swimmers” can go screw - there are sharks in the ocean up and down both US coasts, just a chance you take in the ocean

[taxid]

You just described exactly what the food chain should be around here before humans stepped in and killed all the seals - seals and sharks belong here in large numbers - the seals/sharks don’t put a dent in the fisheries - lets be clear, the largest reason any given fish population is down is OVERFISHiNG by humans....

And the “swimmers” can go screw - there are sharks in the ocean up and down both US coasts, just a chance you take in the ocean

When I lived on the upper east coast the water was too cold for me to take a swim even in the summer! At least I thought it was!