CHATHAM, Mass. (AP) – Growing sightings of great white sharks off Cape Cod are generating business for local entrepreneurs at a popular vacation spot where the supreme predators lurk offshore.
Business owners say customers are happy to buy shark-themed jewelry, clothes, hats, stuffed animals, candy and other products in the town of Chatham. They include Justin Labdon, owner of the Cape Cod Beach Chair Company, who is selling T-shirts with the slogan “Chatham Whites” and other accessories. He says the new business has grown more than 500 percent in the past couple of years.
Still, officials are wary of the damage that could be done to tourism if one of the predators bites a person. Brochures have been distributed to raise awareness of sharks and safe practices in the event of a sighting.