New York, Europe Brief News- Warmer waters caused by climate change are attracting more sharks to beaches as global warming creates perfect habitat for apex-predators to congregate, an expert reveals.
Sharks typically travel up north during the summer months, but this year’s migration is larger and came much earlier than previous seasons – and an expert says climate change is to blame.
Dr Tracy Fanara, an environmental engineer, said that not only is climate change a factor, but so is La Niña.
‘La Niña can supercharge the effects of climate change in some locations, in the short term, resulting in warmer temperatures,’ she said in an interview.
La Niña is also predicted to continue through 2022 with the odds of it decreasing into the Northern Hemisphere late summer, according to NOAA.
‘The migration has always happened, [but] now productive ocean areas are changing due to climate as well as temperatures which can change where sharks congregate,’ Fanara said.
Along with climate change and La Niña, Fanara has other theories to why the northeast is flooded with sharks.
‘It could be overfishing that is causing sharks to come closer to shore or it could be more people in the water,’ she said.
Overfishing removes the shark’s primary source of food, forcing them to look elsewhere for something to eat – and that could be closer to the shoreline.
‘There are more interactions between humans and these animals as they are going where they can find food,’ said Fanara.
‘Depredation is something fishermen are complaining about.’
The warmer ocean waters, however, are playing a huge role in sending the large migration up north.
