AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - 78

There is a shape-vague and indistinct-
moving slowly along the edge of the drop-off,
but it disappears as the airplane moves and
the sun glares brightly off the water.

WAYNE DAVIS (above) has been
spotting fish in the waters around
Cape Cod, Massachusetts, since
1973. Flying his Citabria, he helps
researchers find the great white
sharks that are visiting Cape
waters, a recent phenomenon
because of the increase in the
seal population there (see map
on facing page).

and misunderstood creatures, scientists
can learn more about the sharks' biology
and behavior-their migration patterns
and range, where they breed and mate, their
approximate numbers, and whether their
population is increasing or declining.
WHAT LIES BENEATH

Davis flies along the beach, peering into the
shallow waters and shoals offshore. Sharks
typically are found near the shore, often
just outside the surf line. Davis likes to fly
at around 1,000 feet, low enough to make
out shapes in the water yet high enough
that glare is less of a problem. Forty years
of fish spotting has conditioned him to recognize the telltale signs of what lies beneath.
What looks like a ruffle of wind on the surface Davis can tell is a school of herring;
what seems a cloud of mud along the bottom
are "pogies," or menhaden; a distant splash
could be a swordfish breaching. Seals, however, are easy to spot. They cavort in the
surf, their distinctive cigar-shaped bodies
skimming just beneath the surface.
"There!" shouts Davis, dipping a wing.
Below there seems to be just water and
sand. Davis is circling over a spot less than

FAR LEFT TOP AND BOTTOM: TOM LECOMPTE; WAYNE DAVIS

78 | AOPA PILOT February 2014

An aerial fish spotter, Davis, 66, has
made a career flying low over the waters
off New England. He's logged more than
15,000 hours helping to guide fishing boats
to swordfish and schools of giant tuna. On
this mission he is flying for science, helping
researchers locate great white sharks for the
Massachusetts Shark Research Program.
The fearsome creatures, once rarely seen
in these waters, have become frequent and
disquieting visitors, attracted by the growing population of gray seals off Chatham and
on nearby Monomoy Point.
Dr. Greg Skomal, 52, is a marine biologist with the Massachusetts Department of
Marine Fisheries and project manager for
the shark research. While white sharks off
California, Australia, and South Africa have
been extensively studied, scientists haven't
had many opportunities to study Atlantic
whites. Only 503 sightings of white sharks
were reported along the entire Atlantic
Coast before 2004.
Since 2009, however, 30 sharks have
been tagged, some with satellite transmitters that allow the public to follow their
movements online (www.ocearch.org). By
identifying and tagging these mysterious



http://www.ocearch.org

AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2014
Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2014
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - Contents
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2014 - Cover4
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