Last week, NOAA released the results of a 7 week shark population study.
The study went from April 4 to May 22 and spanned from Ft. Pierce, Florida to North Carolina. The same study was conducted in 2012, and this year’s numbers show a dramatic increase and a positive outlook for the future of our ocean’s top predator.

Read it here: http://nefsc.noaa.gov/press_release/pr2015/scispot/ss1509/

Lisa Natanson, a scientist at the Narragansett Laboratory of  NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and leader of the coastal shark survey, was quoted throughout NOAA’s publication.

“All the survey data are provided to NOAA Fisheries managers to monitor the health and abundance of shark populations in the Atlantic,” said Natanson. “We’ve seen an increase in the number of sharks in every survey since 2001; that reflects management efforts to conserve the populations of various shark species.”

The study consists of a careful capture (apparently hook and line), a quick tag and a prompt release. Not all sharks survived, but were not wasted as they were dissected and studied for scientific purposes (age, growth, reproduction, and food habits).

There are obviously many other studies that must be done to determine the health of the many shark species along the east coast, but it is encouraging to know that conservation efforts seem to be working and we are learning more and more about these awesome fish… but there are some claiming that the recent spike of attacks along east coast beaches could be caused by these same efforts.

Judging by the graph above, I don’t think there’s a correlation, but what do you think?