BARNSTABLE, MASS. (WHDH) - A Boston company is looking to set up emergency speaker systems on Cape Cod beaches as shark sightings continue to spike.
Acoustic Technology, Inc. (ATI Systems) manager Bob McLaughlin presented the proposal to the Barnstable County Commission, just one day after Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro was closed for about an hour due to a confirmed shark sighting.
“The idea is if your head is above the water, you will hear this,” ATI Systems manager Bob McLaughlin said while describing the system. “These are large, industrial speakers and it allows you precious moments to get the alert, understand there’s danger and get out of the water. That’s what this is for.”
McLaughlin says the alert would include a siren and vocal warning along the lines of, “Evacuate the water.”
Experts claim the number of shark sightings off the coast of Cape Cod are higher this year than in previous years.
Greg Skomal, a marine biologist with the state Division of Marine Fisheries, has tagged 12 sharks this season, including four on Tuesday.
The 4 sharks tagged today brings the season total to 12 in just short of a month. The most ever tagged in one season off MA was 28 in 2017. With about 3 months left to work, how many sharks do you think will be tagged this year? pic.twitter.com/4VYAi8XVOR
— MA Sharks 🦈 (@MA_Sharks) July 17, 2019
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