There害羞草研究所檚 growing evidence that the number of great white sharks is on the rise along Canada害羞草研究所檚 East Coast, where plans are in the works to post warning signs for beachgoers for the first time.

Fred Whoriskey, director of the Ocean Tracking Network at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says the population of these apex predators appears to be growing because of successful conservation measures and a rapidly growing food supply, mainly grey seals.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e probably seeing more animals here, though we don害羞草研究所檛 know how many,害羞草研究所� he said in an interview.

害羞草研究所淣o one has a handle on the northwest Atlantic white shark population 害羞草研究所�. (But) I害羞草研究所檝e spoken to a lot of lobstermen who are seeing things that they have not seen for 40, 50 years on the water. That would suggest (the sharks) are reoccupying areas they have been away from.害羞草研究所�

The North Atlantic shark population has been protected in Canada since 2011 and in the United States since 1994. Those protections were introduced after studies showed the population had declined by as much as 80 per cent as fishing increased in the 1970s and 1980s.

Now they害羞草研究所檙e making a comeback.

Aside from more frequent sightings, there have been reports in Nova Scotia of two attacks in recent years, one of which injured a swimmer and another that killed a dog. As well, warning signs and flags have already been installed at beaches in Massachusetts and Maine following two fatal shark attacks, one in 2018 at Cape Cod and another in 2020 at Maine害羞草研究所檚 Casco Bay.

In Nova Scotia, the plan is to install warning signs at about a dozen public beaches as early as this summer. But they probably won害羞草研究所檛 look like the American versions, which often feature an arresting image of a great white shark, its sharp teeth and unblinking eyes the stuff of nightmares.

That kind of high-profile sign would be prone to theft and vandalism, Whoriskey said. That害羞草研究所檚 why he wants to install smaller signs with QR codes that will allow smartphone users to download detailed information.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 good to inform yourself (about the risks), in the same way that we inform ourselves about traffic safety,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淕etting this information out to minimize conflicts between humans and wildlife is always a good thing.害羞草研究所�

Whoriskey is working with the non-profit Lifesaving Society of Nova Scotia, which oversees the lifeguards who supervise about 20 beaches during the summer. Each season, up to 500,000 people visit those beaches.

Among other things, the website will tell people not to swim alone or near seals, and to avoid swimming at dawn, dusk and at night, prime feeding times for great whites.

Shark expert John Chisholm, a scientist at the New England Aquarium in Boston, says the attacks in New England prompted officials to launch public awareness campaigns, install warning signs and roll out a shark-tracking app called Sharktivity.

害羞草研究所淲e know from our experience down here that people were unaware how close the sharks come in when they害羞草研究所檙e hunting seals or feeding on fish,害羞草研究所� said Chisholm, who has been studying white sharks since the late 1970s.

害羞草研究所淲e know that a lot of the white sharks that we tag go up to Canadian waters, all the way into the Bay of Fundy, the Cabot Strait, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and all the way over to Quebec. That害羞草研究所檚 white shark habitat and people need to be aware of it 害羞草研究所�. They害羞草研究所檝e always been there and they害羞草研究所檙e becoming more abundant.害羞草研究所�

As early as 2014, a comprehensive study from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded the white shark population was surging in the ocean off the eastern United States and Canada.

Public concern in Atlantic Canada spiked in August 2021 when the RCMP in western Cape Breton reported that a 21-year-old woman had allegedly been bitten by a shark while swimming near Margaree Island.

According to published reports, the woman was airlifted to hospital to get stitches on her thigh. But an entry in the Canadian Shark Attack Registry says no one came forward to provide evidence.

Then in October 2023, an anonymous hunter reported that a shark had killed his dog as it was retrieving a sea duck close to shore, near Port Medway, N.S.

害羞草研究所淚t happened so quickly and was so shocking that even though I was looking right at her when it happened, I cannot say for certain what type of shark it was,害羞草研究所� the owner said in a statement, adding that the fish was about 2.4 metres long.

Whoriskey said many of the sharks showing up in Canadian waters are juveniles and subadults that are making the transition from feeding on fish to eating larger prey, like seals.

害羞草研究所淭hose individuals pass through a learning phase,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚f we get a lot of those, then there害羞草研究所檚 a probability of close encounters that could include humans.害羞草研究所�

According to the St. Lawrence Shark Observatory, which maintains the attack registry, the last time someone was killed by a shark in Canadian waters was July 1953, when a shark rammed a lobster boat, causing it to capsize. One of the men aboard drowned but wasn害羞草研究所檛 bitten.

害羞草研究所淭he fact is that we are not a preferred prey item, otherwise you would have seen a lot more mortality from white sharks,害羞草研究所� Whoriskey said.

Still, Stephen Crawford has been advocating for warning signs and accompanying shark-bite trauma kits for years.

害羞草研究所淚 think that wherever any wild animals pose a risk to human life, the humans entering those wild environments have a moral and legal right to know what the risk of danger is,害羞草研究所� said Crawford, a professor of integrative biology at the University of Guelph.

As an example, he cited Parks Canada害羞草研究所檚 online bulletins, brochures and warning signs about rattlesnakes, coyotes and bears.

Meanwhile, Parks Canada says it has no plans to install shark signs on the beaches it oversees.

害羞草研究所淎tlantic white sharks are an endangered species; therefore, the likelihood of seeing a shark, let alone an encounter, are very low,害羞草研究所� Parks Canada spokesman Adam Young said in an email.

Crawford said that approach is misguided, given that the species害羞草研究所� endangered status is based on limited data.

害羞草研究所淎ccording to Indigenous and local experts 害羞草研究所� I害羞草研究所檝e spoken to from Maine to Quebec, the annual white shark migration has increased dramatically over the past 10 years,害羞草研究所� he said, adding that warning signs should be placed in all four Atlantic provinces and Quebec.

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Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press