In this Aug. 24, 2017 photo, a shark advisory is posted at Marconi Beach in Wellfleet, Mass. The beach was temporarily closed to swimmers after a shark bit into a paddleboard on Wednesday. Though there was a spate of recent shark sightings on Cape Cod, scientists said it is part of a natural ecosystem that humans must accept. Statistically, risks to people from sharks remain low. The last shark fatality recorded in Massachusetts was in 1936. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via AP)
The Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) - You can't blame beachgoers on Cape Cod for being jittery after a spate of recent shark sightings, some just a bit too close for comfort. Scientists say it's all part of a natural ecosystem that humans must accept.
Last Wednesday, just off Marconi Beach in Wellfleet, a white shark took a bite out of a paddleboard, throwing its rider into the water.
Two days earlier, a shark fed on a seal at Nauset Beach in Orleans, turning the sea red with blood and sending terrified swimmers and surfers scrambling for shore.
Shark experts say people should be vigilant and respect the fearsome creatures, which have likely been drawn in larger numbers to the Northeast by a growing seal population.
But they say shark attacks on humans remain extremely rare.
FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2012 file photo, Capt. Brett McBride streams seawater over the gills of a nearly 15-foot, 2,292-pound great white shark on the research vessel Ocearch in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Chatham, Mass. Though there was a spate of shark sightings in late August 2017 on Cape Cod, scientists said it is part of a natural ecosystem that humans must accept. Statistically, risks to people from sharks remain low. The last shark fatality recorded in Massachusetts was in 1936. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)
The Associated Press