Fearsome predators and humans do not have a history of peaceful relationships- never mind fearsome predators and humans on vacation for the Fourth of July. This summer, I spent a season of service on Cape Cod, where white shark populations are coming closer to shore than ever before in recent history, and long-time summer season Cape Cod vacationers are concerned about their safety on the world-famous beaches.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, the organization I worked with, is a nonprofit based in Chatham, Massachusetts, which supports white shark research off the coast of Cape Cod and offers educational and outreach initiatives for locals and tourists to learn about the local white shark population. The organization also collaborates with local businesses and organizations to celebrate this impressive wildlife, as well as town governments to establish public safety initiatives on beaches.
My work with them included a collaboration with the Cape Cod Fishermen’s Alliance to provide a whole-ecosystem perspective in education and outreach at the Chatham Fish Pier. The Pier Education Program has been a long-time initiative of the Fishermen’s Alliance, where retired fishermen stand at the dock to answer questions about local fisheries and Chatham’s harbor ecosystem. This is the first summer they have invited educators from outside the Fishermen’s Alliance to speak with tourists on the pier. It was a special opportunity to feel out the advantages the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy had to gain from having staff at the pier, and I loved learning from the fishermen about their experiences, and sharing my own, to create a whole-ecosystem perspective of Chatham Harbor for pier visitors. At first, it seemed I might not have much in common with the fishermen, because we had very different conservation perspectives, but we found common ground in many other ways, and they became my closest colleagues of the summer.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, the organization I worked with, is a nonprofit based in Chatham, Massachusetts, which supports white shark research off the coast of Cape Cod and offers educational and outreach initiatives for locals and tourists to learn about the local white shark population. The organization also collaborates with local businesses and organizations to celebrate this impressive wildlife, as well as town governments to establish public safety initiatives on beaches.
My work with them included a collaboration with the Cape Cod Fishermen’s Alliance to provide a whole-ecosystem perspective in education and outreach at the Chatham Fish Pier. The Pier Education Program has been a long-time initiative of the Fishermen’s Alliance, where retired fishermen stand at the dock to answer questions about local fisheries and Chatham’s harbor ecosystem. This is the first summer they have invited educators from outside the Fishermen’s Alliance to speak with tourists on the pier. It was a special opportunity to feel out the advantages the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy had to gain from having staff at the pier, and I loved learning from the fishermen about their experiences, and sharing my own, to create a whole-ecosystem perspective of Chatham Harbor for pier visitors. At first, it seemed I might not have much in common with the fishermen, because we had very different conservation perspectives, but we found common ground in many other ways, and they became my closest colleagues of the summer.
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