Along the storied shores of Cape Cod, a recovering ocean ecosystem has rewritten the terms of human visitation — not by diminishing danger, but by reframing it as wonder. The return of gray seals under federal protection drew great white sharks back to shallow coastal waters, and where fear once emptied beaches, curiosity has since filled charter boats. What began as an ecological consequence of conservation law has become a $2.8 billion tourism economy, a reminder that nature's reclamation of its own territory need not be met only with retreat.
Cape Cod's Great White Shark Boom Transforms Tourism While Testing Beach Safety
Three shark attack incidents since 2012 including one fatal attack in 2018 that killed a 26-year-old boogie boarder.