According to experts cited in a new report, a federal law of the 1970s that led to a booming seal population is likely responsible for the fatal Great White Shark attack in Maine.
The seal population along the northeast coast has thrived since the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which makes it illegal to harass, hunt, capture or kill marine animals, experts told the Portland Press Herald. .
Authorities believe the large target who killed victim Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, may have mistaken her for a seal, because she was wearing a black suit.
Experts also dismissed the idea that the great murderous target approached the shore due to the warm waters.
“Understanding the effects of climate change on fish stocks, including sharks, is an emerging study area and a priority for NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] Fishing, “Tobey Curtis, a fisheries management specialist with NOAA’s Special Atlantic High Migration Management Division, told the publication.
“[But] There is currently no evidence that great white sharks or other species spend more or less time offshore as a result of warming waters. “
He added: “There is also no reason to suspect that warming waters would bring more white sharks to the region; they are already there. “
Curtis said great whites have appeared along the Maine coast for years.
Meanwhile, sharks are protected by the Shark Conservation Act of 2011, which enforces the shark finning ban, which involves cutting off shark fins and throwing disfigured fish into the water to die.
The valuable fins, which can reach $ 500 a pound, are used in shark fin soup, a popular dish that is a status symbol in Chinese culture, according to the Smithsonian.
Holowach was swimming with her daughter about 20 meters from Bailey Island around 3:30 p.m. Monday when she was killed in Maine’s first deadly shark attack.
Gregory Skomal of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries examined a tooth fragment that was recovered from the New York fashion executive and determined that it came from a large target.
He told the Press Herald that shark populations have increased significantly around Cape Cod, and that sharks can make the quick trip to Maine in one day.
A seal with a 19-inch shark wound, probably a great white, was also found Sunday outside Phippsburg, just north of Bailey Island, according to James Sulikowski, a professor at Arizona State University.
Sulikowski said a witness reported that Holowach was thrown into the air during attack taunts with a large target as the culprit.
“Great whites are basically ambush predators,” he said. They swim under their prey and then launch themselves to the surface.
.
