bull shark (photo courtesy of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism)
The Gulf of Mexico is seeing an increase in its shark population. Dr. Dean Grubbs, the associate director of research at the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, says while some species continue to decline in population, others are recovering due to warming water temperatures.
“One of the reasons we’re starting to see more and more bull sharks close in and up here has to do with the fact that one of the byproducts of having warming temperatures is, it’s better habitat in some of the estuaries for bull sharks,” Grubbs said.
Dr. Grubbs says while shark populations are in bad shape in most of the world, it’s a different story in the U.S., with the country starting to manage shark populations back in 1993.
“We have over 30 years now of managing the populations with catch quotas, catch limits, size limits and those kinds of things; and now we’re seeing the rewards of that with the populations recovering,” Grubbs explained.
With an increase in shark population comes an increase in the likelihood of a beachgoer encountering a shark. Grubbs points out, however, that sharks aren’t the only ones increasing in number.
“As the population recovers, we have more sharks coming in closer along the beaches, but we also have a lot more people on the beaches than we did 30 years ago,” Grubbs noted.
Grubbs says if you encounter a shark, the best thing to do is not to panic as you make your way back to the beach, because the species which populate the Gulf want nothing to do with humans, just as humans want nothing to do with sharks.
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