After the Bite

A 2018 fatal shark attack on a boogie boarder in the town of Wellfleet, Massachusetts rocked visitors and residents in the idyllic summer community of Cape Cod, forcing them to respond to the encroachment of apex predators. With the numbers of sharks increasing every year, AFTER THE BITE explores the far-reaching repercussions for this beach community when rapid changes in the natural world begin to clash with a cherished way of life. Great white sharks have dominated headlines in recent years, as their deadly interactions with people have increased in the waters stretching from Maine to the Cape and Islands. Those charged with protecting the public have been forced to address the risk of serious injuries with stop-the-bleed kits mounted at public access beaches, warning billboards, the use of shark-tracking apps, spotter planes and new training programs and protocols for lifeguards. AFTER THE BITE is a deep dive into how one coastal community is renegotiating their relationship with our rapidly changing environment. The changes are numerous: warmer waters, species interacting where they never had before, along with the rapidly increasing numbers of the shark’s favorite prey, the North Atlantic gray seal, whose population has rebounded since seals were protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.