B U S I N E S S
12
Edited by
James E. Ellis and
David Rocks○ Almost half a century after
Jaws, shark tourism is growing
on Cape CodOn a glorious July afternoon, the big fish swims
toward us, its signature dorsal fin slicing the
water. The great white shark measures 12 feet,
maybe more. Its jaws snap shut on 300 pounds of
seal. “We have predation,” says the guide on my
shark-viewing excursion. The attack leaves behind
a gory red plume, the money moment in a bloody
good business.
Shark tourism generates more than $300 mil-
lion a year in places such as Australia, the Bahamas,and New Zealand. But I’m on Cape Cod, the
Massachusetts seaside destination where growing
numbers of great whites have taken to summering
over the past decade. They come for the cuisine:
tens of thousands of gray seals lazing in the coastal
surf. It’s a conservation success story, the result of
decades of federal and state laws protecting both
predator and prey.
Some Cape business owners worry that sharks
will drive away tourists—especially after the killing
of a boogie boarder last September—but many oth-
ers are scrambling to cash in. They sell “Seals Taste
Like Chicken” and “Nice to Eat You” T-shirts, hood-
ies, coasters, decals, and baseball caps. And then
there are the shark-sighting tours. The one I took,
which cost $2,500, is booked solid this summer.