Meet Genie (orange dot) a 14-foot great white shark who has been noodling around off the Jersey shore for a couple of months now. Last August she vacationed off of Nantucket and the Cape . . . she was not alone. Anyone planning to dangle their toes in the ocean this summer should not watch the recent Nova episode “Why Sharks Attack.”
Local white shark sightings have increased with the burgeoning seal population, a direct result of the Marine Mammal Protection Act signed into law by President Richard Nixon. Featured in the show is the tagging crew of Ocearch Shark Tracker. The website is easy to use; just zoom in and click on the dots. (The blue dot on the above map is Princess, a puny little mako who hasn’t checked in in over a month.)
The show covers some fascinating studies being done in the area of shark attack avoidance, although the best advice remains — don’t be a seal. And if you do get eaten by a shark, blame Nixon.