Rhode Island starts fish and shark monitoring program

There have been a couple of shark scares locally this summer, but none of them documented great whites.

In light of the heightened awareness of sharks that troll the waters of New England, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has started a program this year to keep tabs on them, and other fish.

Remember that sand tiger shark encounter off of Moonstone Beach last month? And then that fin sticking up out of the water off of Misquamicut, initially believed to be a shark?

Instances like these have beachgoers on edge.

"We saw footage that was on Channel 10 which was doing the sunfish thing. So, we were kind of able to correct that," said Jason McNamee, chief of the Fisheries Division at DEM.

Because great white sharks that feed off the growing federally protected seal population out towards Cape Cod, where there've been attacks on humans, Massachusetts and federal agencies have ramped monitoring programs and safety protocols over the years to deal with the problem.

"Out on the Cape is a little bit more robust with spotter flights and things like that that occur," added McNamee.

Now, Rhode Island is getting into the game to monitoring game

Just this year, Rhode Island DEM and the University of Rhode Island, as well as the Atlantic Shark Institute, have deployed a dozen acoustic receivers in Rhode Island waters.

They pick up the pings from tagged species of fish, including sharks, even though those that are tagged are fraction of a percentage of what lurks in the deep.

Conor McManus, deputy chief at the DEM Division of Fisheries, said, "As we approach the end of the season and do a full download and analysis of the information to see, which of our tagged friends are moving up and down the coast and who happens to be residing in Rhode Island state waters."

While this data is only a drop in the bucket, it will go a long way towards putting beachgoers and swimmers at ease.

"Your risk is much greater jumping in your car and driving to the beach than it would be to get attacked by a shark while you were at the beach," added McNamee.

But it doesn't mean it can't happen.

"Risk, it's a very low risk," emphasized McNamee.