Peter TrullResearcher & Education Director, Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, PTown Center for Coastal Studies.
Photographer & Author of 8 Books.
One Class
1:30 – 3:00
October 4
This course will show, through discussion and vivid photographs, the relationship between commercial fishing, expanding Gray Seal populations, and the occurrence of Great White Sharks along the beaches of Cape Cod and the northeast coast. This “Gray Curtain” has come about after geologic and environmental changes, range expansion of marine mammals, animal migrations and population growth. Each has had an effect on the lives and attitudes of commercial fishermen and Cape residents, and through daily and seasonal changes, some are now accepted as normal. While fishermen and scientists don’t always agree, both have played a role in these dynamic coastal changes. In the minds of many commercial fishermen, the Gray Seal has played a major part. Now, a new charismatic, apex predator has entered the picture and has made its presence known: the Great White Shark. This enlightening and lively program brings together the main factors that have created the phenomenon of “The Gray Curtain.”