Published May 4, 2021 at 11:13 AM EDT Listen • 49:33
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North Atlantic right whale in Cape Cod Bay
The North Atlantic Right whale is critically endangered. New state regulations require seasonal closures to lobster fishing and modifications to fishing gear to reduce entanglements. We discuss the impact of these new regulations on MA lobster fisherman and the challenges of protecting a migratory species whose greatest threat comes from human activities.
Guests on the program are as follows:
Charles “Stormy” Mayo, Senior Scientist and Director, Right Whale Ecology Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown.
Photo Credit: Wayne Davis, oceanaerials.com
“I grew up fishing the Cape and I’ve watched the seal population grow over the years and completely decimate surf fishing on the back beaches from Race Point to Nauset,” said Matt Perachio of Tighten Up Charters out of Provincetown. “Nobody’s fishing off those beaches anymore.”
“Ten years ago, we never saw seals, but now they’re everywhere,” said Willy Hatch, who’s been fishing the Cape and Islands for over 25 years as the captain of Machaca Charters in Falmouth. “They’re at Squibnocket Beach, Vineyard Sound, the Elizabeth Islands, Woods Hole, the Muskeget Channel. Often, the seals hear me anchor up and set up behind my boat. If I manage to hook a fish, a seal takes it right off my line. It gets worse every year as their population increases and their range expands.”
First Cape shark sighting of the season off Provincetown: Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (It s a Basking Shark)
Posted on
The sharks are back roaming along the Cape shoreline.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy on Thursday reported its first basking shark sighting off Provincetown’s Herring Cove Beach this season.
Although great white shark sightings are increasing every year along the Cape, they are not the only large shark off the Massachusetts coast.
The basking shark is the second largest fish in the ocean, and is often confused with white sharks, especially as their large dorsal fin often can be seen above the water.
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