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White shark tourism is taking off in Cape Cod, where the ocean's largest predator fish have made a remarkable comeback. You can see them by boat for a price. Reporter Paul Marino joined a search for the elusive giant.
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER SPLASHING)
PAUL MARINO, BYLINE: Kris Roszack owns Down Cape Charters in Harwich, near the elbow of Cape Cod. He says white sharks have become more predictable here than the weather.
KRIS ROSZACK: I mean, success rate is probably in the upper 90% if the conditions are right.
P MARINO: He's concerned about the low clouds this morning. It's illegal here to lure sharks to a boat. So these tours rely on spotter planes to find them. Already, two trips this week have been canceled because of fog.
ROSZACK: We do not want to just take people for expensive boat rides.
P MARINO: Three hundred fifteen bucks buys you a chance at seeing a great white this way. Lisa Castle came from Connecticut with her uncle. They're among eight passengers on board. This is the sixth attempt for this shark lover.
LISA CASTLE: Even as a kid, I used to read the book "Shark Attack Files" - yep, very obsessed.
P MARINO: A few decades ago, white shark numbers reached an all-time low in Cape Cod. Experts blame mainly the decimation of seals, their main food source. Fishermen considered seals pests, and the state paid bounties for culling seals. But since the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, seals have come back, at first slowly, then exponentially. Now they're everywhere, Franco says.
NICK FRANCO: There are thousands and thousands of seals off of Chatham. That's why this is the most concentrated place in the world of great whites. So with any luck, we'll get one next to the boat today.
P MARINO: The clouds have lifted, and our boat heads out.
(SOUNDBITE OF BOAT ENGINE RUMBLING)
P MARINO: Our first destination is an acoustic receiver buoy installed by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. They've tagged over 300 white sharks off Cape Cod for research. When one swims near a buoy, an alert goes out, which tour boats use as a tip.
FRANCO: And that beacon just went off recently. So she is circling the area right now, trying to find this fish.
P MARINO: Our pilot, Melina Varrichio, spots the shark.
FRANCO: Roger that. We do have a target.
MELINA VARRICHIO: Eleven o'clock, 2.5 boat lengths, 1 o'clock, two boat lengths.
P MARINO: Brigitte Marino, a recent college grad and shark guide, points to an obscure mass.
BRIGITTE MARINO: She's right here.
P MARINO: Only a few passengers get a glimpse.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Boy, I cannot see him.
B MARINO: Toward that boat.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: It's just a shadow.
P MARINO: Just as quickly, it's gone.
B MARINO: He's swimming away from us.
P MARINO: But the disappointment doesn't last. A few minutes later, the pilot spots two sharks.
VARRICHIO: I'll keep circling the two of them, and once you get here, we'll get you on the one that's more shallow most likely.
FRANCO: Roger that.
P MARINO: Nine tour companies on Cape Cod have recently started offering these tours. We're suddenly joined by another boat. Both tours' spotter planes circle overhead.
(SOUNDBITE OF AIRPLANE ENGINE RUMBLING)
P MARINO: The rule out here is first come, first served, but the captains are courteous.
FRANCO: If you got it, take it.
P MARINO: That boat follows one shark. We follow another and get as close as we can. The dorsal breaks through the surface.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Oh, whoa.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: Yay.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: Wow.
(CROSSTALK)
P MARINO: The shark swims alongside the boat for maybe a minute.
FRANCO: That's a 12-foot great white shark.
P MARINO: Castle feels she's got her money's worth.
CASTLE: I've been obsessed for a long time. Just - I'm happy I finally got to see one.
P MARINO: Researchers are still studying the impacts of ecotourism on shark health and behavior. The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy says where it's regulated, like here in Cape Cod, it's good for sharks because of its educational value. For NPR News, I'm Paul Marino off the coast of Cape Cod.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN WILLIAMS' "JAWS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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